Basic Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce

The most essential and versatile of all Italian pasta sauces. Make big pots and store them in sterilized jars or bottles

Boil the kettle and pour the water into a bowl.  Fill a second bowl with ice and water.  Using a small paring knife, slice a quick criss-cross onto the base of each tomato and place into the boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into the ice cold water for a minute or two.  Using the paring knife and starting with the criss-cross, gently remove the skin off the tomato.  Slice them in half and remove most of the seeds and white “pith” before roughly chopping.

Heat up a frying pan with some olive oil and sauté off the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the white wine and cook off all the alcohol. Add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt & pepper, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.  Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar and cook for another 10 minutes. Finally add the freshly chopped basil, check the seasoning and add a few last glugs of olive oil.

Makes 500 ml

Tip: For an Arrabiata sauce, simply add 2 finely sliced red chilies with the garlic and onions. For a Puttanesca sauce, simply add 2 finely chopped anchovies and 12 pitted black olives with the tomatoes