Tomato Sauce

I remember the sous chef at Chewton Glen telling me once that a chef can be jugged by his tomato sauce. Although I am far from a chef I take real pride in my cooking, and have worked on my tomato sauce ever since.

My tomato sauce recipe’s main influence come from one of my Italian clients who is passionate about her regional cooking and another long term client who is a restaurant owner, trained by an Italian chef. The key is simplicity and using the best ingredients you can get.

For the tomatoes I would recomened the jared La Motticella Pomodori Pelati or tinned Mutti. Mutti also offer a good tomato puree. For fresh vine tomatoes go to Isle of White tomatoes

Ingredients

6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 white onion, finely chopped

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

800g - 1kg of jared or tinned plum tomatoes

1 large tablespoon of tomato puree

250g of sweet vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped

handful of fresh basil, chopped

seat salt to taste.

Method

Start by lightly heating the olive oil in a pan. Then add the onions and allow them to fry on a low heat for 15-20 minutes, bringing them to a soft texture and golden colour. Now add the garlic and fry for just a few minutes until the strong aroma is released and colour changes.

Now add the tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir in and leave half covered on a low heat for 2 hours to simmer away and slightly thicken.

After 2 hours add the the basil and salt to taste. Cook for another 10 minutes and serve with your favorite pasta.