Basic tomato sauce

Babiche Martens

This tomato sauce is great to have in the fridge - delicious with gnocchi, on a pizza base or in a lasagne. It only requires a few ingredients that can be found in most pantries. For winter, tinned tomatoes are a great alternative to fresh ones. And you can jazz it up with a few capers and lemon zest. It's so tasty, you could almost do without the parmesan.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp	Olive oil
1	Onion, chopped
4 cloves	Garlic, crushed
1 tin	Chopped tomatoes, 420g (Main)
2 tsp	Balsamic vinegar
200 ml	Tomato puree
1 dessert spoon	Brown sugar
2 Tbsp	Fresh thyme, leaves
½ cup	Basil leaves, torn, plus extra to serve
1 handful	Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium size pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes without browning. Add tomatoes, puree, balsamic, sugar and thyme. Bring to a simmer over a low heat. Cook for 20 minutes until sauce has thickened.
2. Add basil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Serve with spaghetti or your choice of pasta plus plenty of grated parmesan and extra basil leaves.