tomato sauce for pasta pizza etc

Fizog

Ooh and tomatoes chopped 15p a tin at lidls!

beachbeth

This is the most fantastic tomato sauce recipe for pasta. It is firm enough to sit on your pasta and isn't runny. You can also make a big batch and freeze some for later.

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped
500 ml passato di pomodoro or 1 600g can chopped tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fry the onion for a minute or so in the olive oil and then add the carrot and celery. Cook for another couple of minutes and don't let the vegetables burn or brown. Add the passato or chopped tomatoes and the salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Puree the sauce in a blender and it is now ready to pour over your pasta and top with grated parmesan.

redsquirrel80

Bit more expensive than tinned toms but I made some the other day when I got a couple of packs of very nice mini plum tomatoes cheap because they were on their use by date - has a different 'fresher' taste and a great way to use up fresh tomatoes if they're starting to go a bit squishy.

Quantities whatever you have/ want! Fry onion and garlic in olive oil for a few mins, add other veg if you like (I had a few ends of peppers that needed used up and I always put chillis in). Chop mini plum/ cherry tomatoes in half and add, fry in the oil for a couple of mins then add a little bit of water or stock and simmer until tomatoes have broken down and it's turned into a thick sauce. Add herbs if you like. As it is it should sit on top of pasta with a bit of 'juice' running into the pasta, or you could blend it down to make it smoother - I like it having some texture though!

nikibella

Hi
I make pasta sauce in a frying pan, so there is more surface and the water from the tomatoes (or passata) evaporates faster.
It takes only a few minutes, the time that the water boil and the pasta cooks the sauce is ready.

lil_me

Teensy bit of sugar I always add to make it a little less tangy as DP doesn't like that. I use the frying pan aswell reduces down quicker. I tend to use half passatta and half chopped tomatoes so still has some 'lumps'.

Using fresh tomatoes, those mini plums, make it taste fantastic but always the cost issue.

Flimsy

I make this one every 2 weeks or so and freeze it in portions then it can also be used for other recipes.
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=2205

TheDoolallyDilly

I'm quite new here, and I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place, so apologies if it isn't

I am looking for a tomato sauce for pasta - but the one I make always seems to come out a bit watery and thin. It's basically just onions, chopped tinned tomatoes and some herbs. Is there anything I can add to oomph it up a bit? I did wonder about adding some sun dried tomatoes (I quite like that Dolmio stir-in sun dried tomato sauce). I'd much prefer something homemade (preferably that I cook in bulk and freeze) than shop bought.

TIA.

Dilly

Plum_Pie

It is the right place - hello!

Try:
Sweating the onions for longer (I give them 20 mins) so more liquid evaporates (and you get a sweeter, caramelised flavour)
Cooking the sauce with the lid off so more liquid from the toms evaporates.
Adding a little sundried tom paste (my fave!) or concentrated tom paste to boost the strength of flavour.

There is a recipe index by Galtizz at the top of the board and the 'search this board' function is OK (not great!) too.

kethry

hmm. I would add some tomato puree for starters, to oomph the tomato flavour. What about adding some chopped garlic (when you add the onions), maybe a chilli (either whole - fished out when you're done cooking - or deseeded and chopped, depending on how much heat you like, if you only like a lil bit, add it whole), or a few dashes of worcester sauce. You could add a spoon or two of marigold's boullion (stock powder) which would really ratchet up the flavour content. Sundried tomatoes would work too, but i think they're a bit expensive for what they are. Mushroom ketchup is lovely for adding flavour, again a bit expensive, but i think worth it. use that like you use worcester sauce, rather than tomato ketchup (its a liquid rather than a thick sauce), but sparingly as its quite strong.

As for making it less watery, you've 2 options. 1) use a thickener in the form of cornflour (teaspoon of cornflour in cold water, then stir into the hot liquid, stir a while, if it doesn't thicken enough, repeat till its how you like it. be warned though, heating makes it go thicker, so do give it a chance to thicken before you repeat) or 2) reduce - basically heat the sauce - simmer till it reduces to the thickness you want. be careful though - tomato is notorious for catching so make sure you stir!

HTH

keth
xx

TheDoolallyDilly

Thanks for your help. I'll try the sun dried tomato paste I think, and some chilli. I forgot to say I do put garlic in.

And I'll try sweating the onions a bit longer.

I did look on the recipe index, but couldn't find anything (I was looking under 'tomato' though, perhaps I should have looked under 'pasta'?).

Dilly x