Simple Tomato Sauce.

Pasta Sauce

Simple Tomato Sauce.

We love pasta, but over the years seemed to be more conscious of the amount of acidity in many store bought canned tomatoes, much to the detriment of the pasta dishes we made.

The acidification of food has long been used as a means to preserve it but can make the resulting sauce harsh and bitter. The answer? Make your own.

This is a simple tomato based sauce that you can easily customize by adding any protein or vegetables of your choice or indeed use different types of pasta to ring the changes.

What you will need:

  • 6 x medium sized fresh plum tomatoes.
  • 4 x cloves finely grated garlic
  • 1/2 x grated sweet onion
  • 10 x large basil leaves chopped
  • 1/4 x cup chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 x tsp. tomato paste
  • 1 x pinch dried oregano
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 x tsp. caster sugar (superfine)
  • Olive oil
  • Salt & pepper taste

Method:

Take your tomatoes and remove the top center core by running the point of your knife around where the tomato would have been attached to the vine. Score the top of the tomato with a cross to assist in the peeling process. Place the tomatoes in a pan of boiling water for 2/ 3 minutes, lift out with a  slotted spoon and allow to cool. The skin will now easily peel off. Dice the tomatoes and place to one side.

In a high sided skillet sauté the garlic and onion in a small amount of olive oil until translucent, then add the tomatoes and allow them to break down. Then add the stock, tomato paste, oregano and sugar. Simmer for couple of minutes and then add the chopped basil, stir and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Cover the sauce for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have mostly broken down.

Adjust the consistency by either adding more stock if too thick or use a simmer reduction (Uncovered) if too thin. Finally stir in the grated parmesan and adjust the seasoning.

At this point you can add your protein or vegetables and pasta, and toss gently to coat the pasta, garnish with more parmesan and chopped basil leaves and serve.

We like to use Farmers Market vegetables, roasted, for a healthy dish, great with tagliatelle.

Enjoy !

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