Basic Tomato Sauce Recipe (Video)

     Tomato sauce must be one of most basic and easiest things to make after boiling eggs. When you see how deliciously easy it is, the thought of buying a ready-made jar of tomato sauce will never cross your mind again. There is nothing more pleasant to the senses than the aroma of garlic fried in olive oil filling the kitchen; add to that a good quality of stewed or fresh tomatoes and it is enough to tickle the taste buds; a kiss of basil leaves, and you just can’t wait to tuck in that sauce. 

     This tomato sauce recipe I am sharing is basic sauce yet a pillar of many recipes that I will be sharing in the future. If you don’t fancy basil, just add any other herb you like. If you want to give a Middle Eastern touch to it, add fresh coriander and ground cumin. And if you like it spicy, add fresh chillies at the beginning of the cooking process. Your combinations are endless once you start thinking outside of the box. 

     When I have absolutely no time to cook dinner a simple pasta with tomato sauce is my saviour. There is always a stock of stewed tomatoes or passata, and my basil plant is always happy and thriving by my kitchen window sill. 

Ingredients: 

Yield: 1 litre

• 3 or 4 garlic cloves 
• 1 kg tomato passata* 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• Salt, to taste 
• Fresh Basil leaves 

Method: 

• In a sauce pan, over medium heat, sauté the garlic, halved lengthwise, in the olive oil, tossing them constantly until they turn golden. For a stronger garlic flavour, you may opt to mince the garlic rather than halve it. 
• Pour the tomato passata* and cook for around ten minutes. Add salt and fresh basil at the end.

Tips: 

• If you prefer fresh tomatoes simply peel, deseed, puree and cook. 
• This sauce can be stored in an air tight container for up to a week in the fridge 
• It can be frozen for up to 6 months in the freezer. 
• Use it for making pasta, lasagne, ricotta stuffed shells, mane cotti, calzone and more. 

*Passata is the Italian word for pureed and strained stewed tomatoes which is normally sold in a glass bottle or tetra pack. 

Per Serving : 656 Calories; 42g Fat (53.5% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 72g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 4525mg Sodium.

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