Tomato and Garlic Sauce

One of my favourite go to sauces. I use this in so many different ways. The basic sauce is simple and you can add lots of things to it like chilli flakes or extra veg, meats etc. I make this in large batches and put into freezer bags to store in the freezer. We call this meatball sauce in our house as originally it was the base sauce that I add meatballs to. Now I use it as a quick pasta sauce out of the freezer for busy nights or the base to other meals like meatballs, spaghetti bolognaise or a soup base. I often reheat a portion and add things like sliced smoked sausage as a sauce for pasta, Crispy bacon and carrots as a soup. this can be cooked down to be thicker as a sauce or watered down as a soup. Either way its great.

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil 1 tablespoon
  • Onions, Chopped x 2
  • Garlic, finely chopped x 2 cloves
  • Tinned tomatoes x 2 cans
  • Tomato puree 1 tablespoon
  • Chicken or vegetable stock cube
  • Dried Thyme, one pinch
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • Garlic granules one pinch
  • Water 1 pint/ 568ml

Method:

In a large saucepan on medium heat add olive oil and chopped onions, soften these slightly before adding tomato puree and stir round. Then add garlic, tinned tomatoes and stock cube. while this is coming back up to temperature add the garlic granules, salt pepper, thyme and water. Bring this to a simmer and leave to reduce for 30 minutes. I will add more water if the sauce seems a little too thick to prevent sticking. At this stage I will check again and taste. Sometimes the tomatoes need a little sugar so I add this at this stage. This sauce is ready when its reached the consistency you are looking for either sauce or soup.

If you want a deeper flavour to the sauce, reduce heat and let it gently bubble away for an hour, check frequently for sticking and adding a little more water if needed.

Once this is cooked and cooled it can be divided up into feezer bags labled and stored in the freezer. I pull a bag out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge or if i’m eating it right away I put it on the counter and it defrosts quite quickly. I will reheat in the microwave or hob depending on what I’m making with the sauce.