Simple Tomato Sauce
If you learn to make this sauce, you'll always have a go-to quick dinner. It can be served plain on pasta or as the sauce for cannelloni, eggplant parmigiana and so much more.
It's impossibly simple and will replace store bought pasta sauces. This base recipe uses tomatoes, garlic and basil – but you can also use onion for extra flavour. If adding onion, cook it low and slow before adding garlic, and follow the rest of the recipe as per usual.
Ingredients 6
3 tins tomatoes, whole, peeled
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch basil, leaves picked and stems reserved
2 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli flakes, optional
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Method 6
Empty the tins of into a large bowl and crush with a potato masher or your hands, picking out any tough bits as you go.
Pick the from the stem and set both aside. Finely chop the .
In a large saucepan over low heat, add the , basil stems and . Cook low and slow for 5 minutes until smelling really delicious. Be sure to keep the heat low as you don't want to burn the garlic as this will ruin the flavour of the sauce.
Add the , and , if using. Fill one of the tomato tins with water, add to the saucepan, then add another 1/2 tins worth of water. Increase the heat to medium and simmer the sauce for 30 minutes until reduced and thickened slightly.
Taste and add more if needed.
Use tongs to remove the basil stems. Add the and cook for 2-3 minutes until the basil leaves have wilted, then turn off the heat.
Anna Guerrero's tips
This base recipe uses tomatoes, garlic and basil – but you can also use onion for extra flavour. If adding onion, cook it low and slow before adding garlic, and follow the rest of the recipe as per usual.
If you're cooking for 1 or 2, just reduce the amount of basil and garlic and use 1 tin. I do this all the time when I need a quick dinner, and serve it with a pasta of my choice.
