Basic Italian Tomato Sauce - Tested till perfect

Basic Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe. Everyone should know how to make a basic pasta sauce and this one is ideal. The recipe I follow is by Renowned chef, Katie Caldesi.

Serves: 4 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes 

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Step 1: You will need
7 tbsp olive oil ½ red onion 2 medium garlic cloves 800 g canned chopped tomatoes 100 ml vegetable stock or water salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 knife 1 chopping board 1 wooden spoon 1 large frying pan

1.     Step 2: Onion

Put 7 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over a low heat. While it is heating, slice the ends off the red onion, and peel the outer skins.

Add the onion to the pan. Fry for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that the pieces cook evenly. Cooking the onions for this long gives the sauce its sweetness. When cooked the onions should be translucent and golden.

2.     Step 3: Garlic

Peel the 2 garlic cloves and add them whole to the pan. Cook for about a minute, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add 2 generous pinches of freshly ground black pepper and 3 generous pinches of salt

3.     Step 4: Tomatoes

Pour in 800 grams of chopped tomatoes and stir. Use the spoon to break tomatoes down a little. You will also find that they naturally break down as they cook. Turn the heat up until the sauce begins to simmer. Then leave the sauce to cook for roughly 20 minutes. If it starts to burn add some water or vegetable stock

4.     Step 5: Liquid

Add the remaining 100 millilitres of water or vegetable stock to the pan and gently stir for about 2 minutes. The sauce should be thick and not watery so allow it to reduce down. This will concentrate the flavours. Now leave the sauce to reduce for 10 minutes. If you feel it has reduced too far and is likely to burn add a little more water. Don't be afraid to taste a little and add more salt or pepper if you think it needs it.

5.     Step 6: Serve

This sauce goes well with any type of pasta.