Classic Tomato & Basil Sauce (For Pizza & Pasta)
An easy tomato & basil sauce that's perfect for pizza and pasta. This recipe uses good quality ingredients & there's some handy tips included for making a perfectly balanced sauce that's full of flavour.
Servings: 10 People
Equipment
- Large Saucepan
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 Yellow Onions (Or Brown/White Onions - See Notes)
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 100 g Tomato Paste
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 800 g Tinned Tomatoes (See Notes)
- 25 g Fresh Basil
- 1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
- 1 tsp Caster Sugar
- Parmesan Rind (Optional - See Notes)
- 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
- Peel the onions & garlic then slice thinly. Set the garlic to one side for now.
- Next, set a large saucepan over a medium heat, add in the olive oil then leave to heat up for a minute. Add in the sliced onions & a good pinch of sea salt then cook, stirring regularly until the onions are soft and translucent. This will take 5-10 minutes & the onions shouldn't take on any colour.
- Whilst the onions are cooking, pick the basil leaves from the stalks. Set the leaves & stalks to one side, keeping them separate.
- Once the onions are cooked, add in the sliced garlic & cook for another minute. Then add in the tomato paste & continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes, until the tomato paste has turned a deep red colour. Make sure to stir frequently.
- Next, add the tinned tomatoes, oregano, vinegar & sugar into the pan. Fill each empty tomato tin up ⅓ full with water. Use this water to rinse the tins out then stir it into the sauce.
- Turn the heat down slightly to medium-low, add in the basil stalks & parmesan rind then lightly season the sauce with salt & pepper.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer then cook, stirring regularly until the sauce has thickened, has turned a deep red & the tomatoes no longer taste bitter. This step will take around 20-30 minutes.If you're using tinned whole tomatoes, crush them with a wooden spoon as the sauce cooks.
- Once cooked, take the pan off the heat then remove the basil stalks & any of the parmesan rind that's left (if there's any).
- Stir in the balsamic vinegar & basil leaves then let stand for 1 minutes so they can wilt.
- To finish the sauce, give it a quick blend with a stick blender or jug blender then season with salt & pepper as needed. Use straight away or transfer to a container, leave to cool down then store in the fridge.
Notes
1. To Cook On An Aga - Cook the sauce on the simmering plate. If you don't want to cook the sauce on the stove, you could cook it in the simmering oven instead. The sauce will take around an hour to cook this way.
2. Tomatoes - Using good quality tins of tomatoes makes all the difference when making tomato sauce. I used Mutti plum tomatoes.
3. Onions - Yellow onions are the classic choice for tomato sauce. If you're in the UK, these are often called brown onions. White onions will also work.
4. Parmesan Rind - This adds a savoury umami flavour to the sauce, balancing out the acidity from the tomatoes. Adding this is optional though, so don't worry if you haven't got any parmesan.
5. Blending - Your sauce will turn orange if you over blend it, as the added air will lighten the colour. To avoid this, blend the sauce just until it's smooth. Don't worry if your sauce turns a lighter colour, it will still taste the same.
5. Storage & Reheating - Homemade tomato sauce needs to be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within 3 days. This sauce will freeze well & will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you're using the sauce for pasta, you'll need to reheat it on the stove and the thickness can be adjusted with pasta water. Tomato sauce for pizza should be used cold.