Fresh tomato sauce is so quick to make and useful for pasta, pizza, gnocchi as well as chicken or eggplant parmigiana.
Make a double batch and freeze in flattened out snap lock bags, for quick defrost.
INGREDIENTS FOR 1L
1 x 200gm brown onion
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 x medium cloves garlic
3Tbsp tomato paste
600gm ripe tomatoes
1 x 400gm tin crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
- Place oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
- Chop onion into dice and fry in olive oil for a few minutes seasoning with salt and pepper during cooking, until softened.
- Chop fresh tomatoes (include pulp) into 1cm dice. Set aside.
- Crush garlic add to pan and fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Add tomato paste and oregano to pan and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds.
- Tip in fresh chopped tomatoes and tinned crushed tomatoes and stir well to combine. Fill empty tin ¾ full of water and add to saucepan.
- Season sauce with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
- Turn heat down and simmer sauce, with lid on saucepan for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Adjust consistency by adding water if too thick or simmer for longer, uncovered, if too runny.
- Taste for seasoning. Tomatoes love a bit of salt to balance out their acidity.
- Turn off heat.
COOKS NOTES
- Three different types of tomatoes are used in this sauce. They all play a part - fresh for liquid as well as flavour, tinned for texture and colour and paste for concentrated and more depth in flavour.
- At home, I freeze my sauce in snap lock bags to store. Once sauce in bag, lay flat on workbench and remove as much air as possible before snapping shut. Freeze flat so the sauce will defrost quickly when needed.
- Choose vine ripened, ripe red coloured tomatoes for best flavour.
- Add fresh basil at end of cooking as well as or as an alternative to dried oregano.
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