Spaghetti Sauce w/Olives

A few weeks ago we went to one of out favorite Italian restaurants, Stino DaNapoli. I had Lasagna Alla Meridionale and Mark had Linguine Alla Posillipo. Mark especially liked his meal, the sauce in particular, so I thought I would try to see how close a version I could make myself. We both thought the sauce had the flavor of olives. I came pretty close, with maybe the only change would be pureeing the olives instead of a fine chop.

Spaghetti Sauce with Olives

2 Tbl. olive oil
1 1/4 cups mixed olives, pitted and finely minced (or pureed)
1 c. chopped onion
1 celery rib, chopped
2 T chopped garlic
1/4 t basil
1/8 t oregano
1/4 t garlic salt
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1/4 tablespoon red pepper flakes, plus more if desired

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan. Add onion and celery, cook a few minutes then add garlic and olives (if minced-if you puree them add them later with the tomatoes). Cook a few minutes more then add the spices, then tomatoes and pepper flakes, then the salt. Bring to a low boil and turn heat down to simmer for a bout 15 minutes.