Classic tomato sauce

Every home cook should be able to knock out a great tomato sauce. It's such a staple part of home cooking, so easy and so versatile. This recipe has no onions (so even easier than most), but really doesn't disappoint in flavour. It won’t come as a huge surprise that the most important part of making this sauce is the quality of tomatoes! Traditionally, the San Marzano is the ultimate. If you can get your hands on some (canned or fresh) it makes all the difference. If you can’t, just make sure you’ve got top tommies and you can’t go wrong. Sweet and delicious.

Serves: A family of 4

Prep time: Less than 5 mins

Cook time: Around 45 mins

Method

Heat the oil in the pan on a medium-low heat.  Add the garlic early on so that it gently warms with the oil. Let it sizzle for a minute or so before adding the tomatoes. Bash them up a bit with a wooden spoon. Add the balsamic, sugar and sea salt and, once it starts simmering, turn the heat down to low. 

Let it simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring regularly. 

Once the sauce is nice and thick, check the seasoning, take off the heat and stir through the basil. 

Serve by stirring through your favourite pasta with a splash of the pasta water. Or mix it into some rice/potatoes for the kids.

TIPS

• Stir in a splash of water at a time if it's gotten too thick for your liking.

• For a super silky sauce, give it a quick pulse with a stick blender at the end.

• Seal it in a container in the fridge and it should last around a week.

• I often make a batch and freeze lots of pod servings to use for my little one's meals... goes great with potatoes, veggies, pasta.

• If you mind the tomato skins (I don't), before anything, drop them in boiling water for a minute or until the skins start to split. Remove from the pan and peel the skins off. It’s a fiddly step and I’d much prefer either a chunky, rustic sauce or giving it a blend at the end. But it works much easier than trying to peel from fresh.