Homemade tomato sauce
A classic, rich homemade tomato sauce - great with pasta, meatballs or mixed with creamy mascarpone. This recipe makes a big batch and freezes well so you can whip up quick weekday meals. You'll never buy shop-bought jars again!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil, ideally olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated or crushed
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- ½ tsp dried oregano, basil or mixed herbs
- ½ tsp caster sugar
Method
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds more.
Add the tomatoes, herbs and sugar and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
Stir in a splash of water to loosen the sauce, if needed, and season to taste.
Recipe Tips
You can vary this pasta sauce so to suit your taste. For a spicy pasta sauce, add 1–2 pinches of dried chilli flakes with the tomatoes.
For a creamy tomato sauce, stir in 2–3 tablespoons of single or double cream, crème fraîche, soft cheese or mascarpone at the end of the cooking time and heat through gently.
For a meaty flavour, fry chopped bacon, chorizo, salami or ham when cooking the onion. Or add at the end if you need to keep some of the sauce vegetarian.
This tomato sauce can be kept in the fridge for a week, or frozen for up to 2 months.
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