Simple Tomato Sauce

Serving: 15

This is a core recipe that works with hundreds of dishes, If you have this in the fridge you can make very simple and healthy dishes. 

In my opinion to make the best tasting tomato sauce is to follow a couple of rules. Chop all the vegetables down as finely as you can. Don’t cook it too long and lastly don’t blitz or puree the sauce.

Ingredients

4 x 14 ½ oz          Chopped canned tomatoes

6oz                        Tomato puree

8 sticks                 Celery

2                            Onion

3                            Carrots

2                            Red Chili

Pinch                     Dried Oregano

1 clove                   Garlic, crushed

3 tsp                       All purpose flour

2 tsp                       Sugar to taste

2 tsp                       Vinegar       

Olive oil

Salt and cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. To start prepare all the vegetables, peel the celery yes I said it peel the celery to do this take your peeler from the top to the bottom of the celery stick and remove the horrible strings. Cut into manageable lengths cut into thin strips and then dice. I think celery in a tomato sauce is vital amazing flavor the more the better.
2. Next chop the onion, garlic and chili.
3. Lastly dice the carrot as finely as you can.
4. You are now ready to cook, using a heavy bottomed pan add a little oil once you have gained some heat add the chopped onion, celery and carrot.
5. Cook for a few minutes without color, the veg should start to look sticky but control the heat to ensure you don’t burn it.
6. Next add the chopped garlic, cook out for a couple of minutes.
7. Then add the tomato puree cook for two minutes.
8. Next add the teaspoon of flour, the flour will help hold the sauce together but it is optional.
9. Once the flour has been worked in add the tined tomato.
10. Bring to the boil pop on a lid and then reduce the heat as low as it will go for about 20 minutes.
11. Once cooked give it a taste you will find that it might need some work to get the balance right so add the vinegar and the sugar then some seasoning.
12. Once you are happy with the flavor you now have two choices one is to use the sauce as it is or if you would like a smother finish pass the sauce through a sieve. This will ensure that the sauce keeps its amazing red color.

Notes

This sauce can be made in bulk, split it between Ziploc bags and freeze. It can be used from frozen.