Can you really OS on pasta sauce?

Sarahsaver

Mine is definitely cheaper than bought!
Tin of economy tomatoes, an onion, garlic, dried herbs or fresh if I have any, possibly an economy stock cube. Cook on really low for an hour then either have lumpy or whizz with the stick blender. Also nice on calzone. And none of the cack the ready made stuff has in it. Modified starch? Sucrose? Glucose syrup? Pass the bucket!

lil_me

I make loads when I make it. Throw the lot in the slow cooker. Then I can make several things when it's done, usually do some for spag bol, lasagne, canneloni, and cheat by spicing some up for mexican burrittos!

PS sure onion will be less than that, they are only about 50p a kilo usually.

Minerva_2

I know it isn't really moneysaving, but the ONLY tinned tomatoes that I really like are Heinz, they don't taste bitter or "tinny" like the other brands do.

Minerva

Edinburghlass_2

Roz_V wrote:

I made a basic sauce from scratch tonight after being inspired by this thread.

Half a jar of Morrisons Passata (34p/jar) 16p
1 small onion (unsure of cost, poss about) 30p
1 clove of garlic (23p/garlic, 8 cloves) 3p
Oregano (donated by MIL, but negligible cost)

Fried the onion and garlic, then added the passata and a small sprinkle of oregano and simmered until it was a fairly thick consistency (about 15mins)

So time-efficient, fresh ingredients, and tasty. Oh and it cost 49p and made enough for a really good dollop for 2 people. So less than 25p/portion Sounds OS to me.

I guess add mushrooms, peppers etc depending on personal preference.

So happens I bought a single onion today probably medium size and it was 8p

Roz_V

Edinburghlass wrote:

So happens I bought a single onion today probably medium size and it was 8p

which brings the cost right down to 27p in total, 14p per portion :j

I would say conclusively then that you can OS on pasta sauce

angelavdavis

An alternative to using tomatoes for a pasta sauce is my fast pasta recipe:

Put pasta onto boil
Meanwhile, fry chopped bacon pieces and finely chopped onion in a little olive oil, add some chopped mushrooms (not obligatory) and herbs
Add a little leftover white wine to the bacon and mushrooms (not necessary but adds flavour)
Cook down slightly until pasta is cooked
Drain pasta and put back in saucepan
Tip bacon/mushroom mix over pasta and mix well.
Add a beaten egg and grated cheese into the pasta and toss well (the heat of the pan/pasta will cook the egg and melt the cheese)
Grate fresh black pepper on top.

Serve immediately with a green salad.

Yum! Maybe not as cheap as the tomato based alternative, but cheaper than a carbonara packet, less calories and no sugar.

studentphil

Hi,

I tried it with Puree tonight instead of jar stuff! It was fab and so much thicker than and better tasting than using a jar.

JoeyG

I just made some sauce using half a jar of passata, and mixed in some oregano and basil... didnt wanna add any onion or garlic cos I might be going out in a bit

It tasted much better than shop bought sauce... but it was still abit too acidic... like it was missing a vital ingredient (maybe several)

I'm not too keen on the taste of onions or garlic... can i leave those out? and what should I have added to reduce the acidic taste?

angelavdavis

Add a teaspoon of sugar. Even with the extra sugar, there will be less than in a shop-bought sauce. If you are feeling adventurous, add a drop of red wine or balsamic vinegar. If you have the patience and don't want to add sugar, reducing it (ie letting it simmer down for a good while - at least half an hour) will enrichen and cut down on the bitterness too.

apple_mint

Yes, I also always add a little sugar and balsamic vinegar ... lovely