This tomato pasta sauce is so quick to make, so delicious to eat and really versatile for the meals you can use it for. If you are tired after work and can’t be bothered doing much, this sauce requires minimum effort and then you can just throw it over some spaghetti or throw a few vegan meatballs into the sauce pot (Gardein meatballs are really yummy) and you have an easy quick meal. I also use this sauce when I am making lasagne, spaghetti bolognese or potato & leek gnocchi which, not so coincidentally, is the recipe I will be posting next weekend.
Years ago, I used to use tinned tomatoes for my pasta sauce. I eventually found a really good Italian brand of tomatoes which were nice but still not fantastic. I know that you can use fresh tomatoes but I always find great tomatoes hard to find. My lovely Dad used to grow the most amazing tomatoes I have ever eaten. In Summer, we would eat them like apples, they were just so good. My beautiful Dad passed away in 2002, just after he turned 60 and I haven’t found any tomatoes that compare to his.
I eventually discovered passata and I haven’t bought tinned tomatoes since. By passata, I don’t mean a jar or pasta sauce. I mean a bottle of 100% tomato. I use an Italian brand – Mutti. If you find a great passata, the flavour is good anyway and you just have to add a few things to enhance it. Personally, I think that sugar (or stevia) is essential when cooking with tomatoes. A few years ago, I stopped eating sugar for about 10 months and I was ok with it but I really missed adding a bit of sugar to my pasta sauce. It made such a difference to the taste.
So, now I have to go because I am getting hungry and might have spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. Enjoy!
- 1 Large Onion - chopped finely
- 3 Garlic Cloves - chopped finely
- 1 Bottle of Passata (700ml / 24oz)
- 1 tbsp Dried Basil
- 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp Stevia or Sugar
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 cup water
- Heat Olive Oil in a heavy based saucepan or pot.
- Add onion and garlic. Stir on medium heat until softened and starting to brown.
- Stir in basil and oregano.
- Add passata and stir. Add 1 cup of water to the Passata bottle and shake well before adding to the sauce.
- Add salt and Stevia/sugar.
- Taste to check if you need more salt or sugar.
- Either serve immediately or allow to simmer on low heat until required.
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