tomato sauce for pasta pizza etc

linzi1978

Whenever I make a sauce now i try and use up bits in the fridge that need using up, usually bacon,celery,carrots stc The celery and carrots make it more sweet and bulk out the sauce.

Linzi

viv0147

What do you mean by sweating the onions please

meanmarie

Welcome Dilly,

I think that reduction by slow simmering, as others have said is the best way to get a good thick sauce, the addition of a little sugar in any recipe using tomatoes is also a good way to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes

Marie

PZH

Whenever I use tinned tomatoes I always pour the tin into a sieve and let some of the water drain away to a bowl underneath. Then, when using them, if the sauce is too dry I simply add a bit of the water back again.

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rsdiscos

I always use value passata as a base (sieved tomatoes in a tall jar/bottle) then I add
garlic
dried mixed herbs
LargeOnion
2 Med Carrots
Red/ Yellow Pepper (ou of a Value pack)
1/2 a butternut squash ( soften by cutting up small and putting in microwave for 10 mins)
When all the vegetable are soft (approx 15 mins on med heat) and the passata has reduced slightly I blend it all really well.
I can normally get 3/4 portions out of this with each portion being used for 4 people with quorn, mushrooms, sweetcorn or peas added later. I always have 2/3 portions in the freezer! Yummy

anniebooklover

It sounds as though maybe not enough seasoning is being added. As others have said, tomato puree will thicken the sauce and you can reduce it further by leaving the lid of the pan while it cooks.

Italian seasoning with maybe some onion salt will really lift the flavour of your sauce. If you don't have these you can add basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves, black pepper. A little goes a long way but they really add real flavour. Let them cook through on a low heat and taste now and then. Add herbs if you feel they are needed (I find oregano is invaluable in Italian sauces).

Slow cooking is necessary to get the flavours to permeate through the sauce. I let my sauce simmer for at least 45 minutes - but as I bulk cook I only have to do it once every few weeks.

DIRTY_CASH

Not strictly pasta..

But I use a similar kind of pasta sauce but make a sort of cassoulet type dish.

Fried chopped onions
chopped chicken breast
Courgette
Streaky bacon bits or lardons etc
Chooped herbs basil oregano marjoram etc
Butter beans.

The beans really soften up and thicken the sauce any way.

Gingham_Ribbon

I think the trick with a decent tomato sauce is to use passata. A bettabuy box of passata just needs a good glug of olive oil, some dried Italian herbs and maybe some crushed garlic, then left to simmer while the pasta is cooking. Some tomato puree helps too.

Big_Bird_4

My very minimal tomato sauce goes like this. A bit of olive oil in a saucepan. Crush some garlic onto the cold oil (so that you don't burn the garlic). Turn on the heat and as soon as the garlic starts to smell add tinned tomatoes and black pepper. Then I simmer until its the thickness I want. I serve it with pasta, homemade garlic bread and a green salad from the garden -- a really nice meal for little more than the price of a tin of toms.

tickleoria_2

If I am in a hurry and I want a sauce to thicken quickly I add some gravy granules in place of stock. The result is a more intensified flavour as well as a thicker base (even if it is a bit of a cheat!)