This is not a recipe for tomato sauce. This is the tomato sauce, the one that requires exactly four ingredients and the wisdom to use nothing else.

The garlic here is a whisper. You crush the cloves, infuse the oil, then remove them. What remains is perfume, not presence. This is the difference between cooking Italian food and cooking what Americans imagine Italian food to be.

Simple does not mean easy. It means every ingredient must earn its place. It means your technique must be sound because there is nowhere to hide mistakes. When your tomatoes are San Marzano, grown in volcanic soil at the foot of Vesuvius, you do not need to add anything. You need to get out of their way.

What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. No onion. No oregano. No red pepper flakes. No Parmigiano. I know this may trouble you. I know you want to add things. Resist.