Tomato Sauce – Modern Day Peasant

As a student, my budget is very limited. This sometimes leads to having to skimp out on food and buy premade sauces. While this is not at all a bad thing, as an ametuer chef I feel it is my duty to at least try and make things myself.

This recipe provides a simple, easy and quick tomato sauce which will add a deep flavour to any of your tomato based dishes.

It goes great with pasta, you could use this as the base for a tomato soup, chilli, pizza, ratatouille, casseroles…you get the idea. I used this sauce for meatballs.

The Ingredients

• 1 can of chopped/crushed tomatoes, whole is fine but you will have to crush them yourself
• Tomato paste
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 3tbsp of your cooking oil of choice
• 3tbsp of unsalted butter
• Dried basil (optional)

The Method

1. Heat up the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and allow to cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the onion and cook until they begin to brown.
3. Add some tomato paste, two or three squeezes of it. Then stir to coat the onion and garlic.
4. Add in your chopped tomatoes, stir and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer it simmers the thicker it will be, I wouldn’t go over an hour however as it may reduce too much.
5. Add the butter and any herbs you desire. Stir to combine.
6. Once the butter has melted into the sauce, you are ready to serve!

You could also use a hand blender to create more of a purée, perfect for pizza!

Have you given this recipe a try? Tweet a pic: https://twitter.com/ThePlumpPeasant