A Really Good Tomato Sauce
Master this rich, versatile, sweet tomato sauce and you’ll have the foundations for many delicious dishes. It is easy to make, will keep in the fridge for a few days and freezes well. I love to cook up a big batch, so it’s ready to pull it out of the freezer when I need it.
Ladle the sauce over pasta and sprinkle with parmesan for an easy mid-week supper, use it on homemade pizzas to avoid soggy bases or top roasted cauliflower with it for a tasty vegan alternative to cauliflower cheese.
Method
Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 40 mins
Makes 4 portions
Chop the onions.
Gently heat the oil in a heavy based, deep sided frying pan. Tip in the onions, along with a pinch of salt and stir. Cover with a cartouche made from greaseproof paper. Scrunch up the cartouche and wet it before placing it over the onions.
Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the onions are very soft and turn translucent. Stir in the tomato puree for the last 5 minutes to cook out any vinegar taste.
Don’t be tempted to short cut this step. It is the basis of a really delicious sauce.
Pour in the tomatoes and add 100ml water. Add the salt, sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Stir in.
Bring up the heat and gently simmer the tomatoes for 15-20 minutes, giving them an occasional stir to make sure they don’t catch. When the sauce has reduced down and thickened a bit, it is ready.
Remove the bay leaf and carefully pour the sauce into a blender. Blend until smooth.
Get a large bowl and set a sieve over it. Pour the tomato sauce into the sieve a bit at a time and push it through with a spoon or the back of ladle. Repeat this, until all the sauce has been sieved.
It’s now ready to use straight away or cool down in airtight containers, cool and refrigerate or freeze.
It will keep for us to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 x 400g tinned tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
