Tomato Pasta Sauce

The other day I bought a big box of gorgeously ripe tomatoes from Hoxton Fruit and Veg. As we are planning to have veal and pork meatballs this week, I knew I had to make a pasta sauce out of them.

There are only a handful of ingredients in this sauce- it's beauty is in its simplicity. With tomatoes, the key is to either cook them quickly or slowly- 45 minutes on a slow simmer should help bring the sweetness out of the fruits. In terms of herbs, I like to use basil to give the sauce an authentic Italian feel, but oregano works well too, especially it's going to be used for a pizza.

Ingredients 

1 large white onion, chopped

A large bunch of basil, chopped and stalks reserved

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

4 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1kg tomatoes

Method

1. To skin the tomatoes, place in a pan of boiling water for one minute. Remove, and leave to cool for a few minutes before removing the skins with your hands. Set aside whilst preparing the onion.

2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion, garlic and the stalks of the basil. Cook on a low heat until the often is softened- be careful not to colour it too much. This should take about twenty minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes and the red wine vinegar to the onion, and break them apart using a wooden spoon. Increase the temperature to medium so that you have a steady simmer for around forty minutes. 

4. Check the taste at this stage. Add the sugar if necessary, and the rest of the chopped basil. Simmer for a further fifteen minutes. 

5. Using a hand blender or a food processor, blitz the sauce briefly. The sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to five days or frozen for later use.