Fresh tomato sauce for pasta (pasta sauce)

Fresh tomato sauce is perfect for many pasta dishes including lasagne and cannelloni. The summer is a perfect time to give this easy tomato sauce recipe a go when tomatoes are in season especially if you have grown your own or are able to get hold of them at a good price. Alternatively, if fresh tomatoes are expensive or if you don't have enough you can make your own homemade pasta sauce using tinned tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 500g fresh tomatoes (any type)
• 1 medium sized red onion
• 3 large cloves garlic
• A small dried chilli (optional)
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Dash of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Water

Equipment needed to make fresh tomato sauce for pasta

• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Large saucepan
• Long handled spoon
• Teaspoon
• Tablespoon
• Hand blender

How to make fresh tomato sauce for pasta

Finely chop the onions and dried chilli. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves.

Roughly chop the tomatoes. It is not necessary to remove the skins as the sauce will be blended.

Gently cook the onion, garlic and chilli in olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and heat gently for a few minutes.

Add the tomato purée and salt and pepper, stir, and simmer for a few minutes.

Blend using a hand blender until fairly smooth. The sauce will be quite thick so you will need to add water to bring it to the thickness you want. This will vary depending on your how you plan to use the sauce for example you may want a thinner sauce for lasagne, or a thicker sauce for stirring into pasta.

Tips

1. Any type of red tomatoes can be used for this recipe, but it it better to use ripe tomatoes even if they are a little soft.
2. If you would like a chunky sauce then there is no need to blend it. A chunky sauce is suitable for dishes such as ratatouille.
3. The sauce is perfect for making in bulk. It can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or can be frozen. The sauce can be defrosted in a microwave when needed making it a perfect convenience food.
4. The amount of chilli can be varied depending on how spicy you want the sauce to be, or it can be omitted. I find that even just a small amount adds flavour without too much heat.
5. If you don't have enough fresh tomatoes either due to the time of year or where you live, or if they are expensive, then you could make a batch of tomato sauce for pasta (using tinned tomatoes). If good quality tinned tomatoes are used then you will still have a homemade sauce which will be superior to mass produced sauces.
6. Tomato sauce isn't just for serving with pasta, you could also serve it alongside a variety of other dishes such as nut roast.