Tomato sauce for pasta
Today I'm going to start off simple with a recipe for tomato sauce. Paired with pasta of any sort it will satisfy even the largest of appetites. Any unused sauce can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days and can be smeared on jacket potatoes or toast with cheese before grilling to make a pikey pizza. The recipe is easily adaptable - you can chuck in olives, some cooked bacon or any herbs you have. After the onion has browned you can add chopped mushrooms or peppers and cook for about 5 mins until soft and then add the tomatoes. Basically, do whatever you fancy. Loyd Grossman eat your heart out...
Ingredients:
1/2 an onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tin chopped/ peeled tomatoes
1 portion pasta (spaghetti or penne etc.)
pinch of salt + ground pepper (+pinch of sugar- optional)
fresh or dried basil or oregano or chilli powder (optional)
dollop of plain yoghurt or cream (optional)
grated cheese (optional)
What to do:
1. Cut the onion in half from root to tip. Chop finely, slicing to the root but not through it and then across in the opposite direction. Finely chop the garlic clove. Heat the olive oil over a medium heat and then add the onion and garlic, stirring so it doesn't burn. You want to soften them until the onion is golden and almost see-through- this should take about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put on a pan of water to boil.
2. When the onion is softened you can add any extras you want like peppers, mushrooms or olives and cook them until softened as well which will take another 5 minutes. Cooked chicken or ham could also be added. Then add the tin of tomatoes
3. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and any herbs like basil, oregano or thyme you may have (fresh is better), adding chilli if you fancy it with a bite. A pinch of sugar if you haven't added chilli goes down well. Leave the sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes while the pasta cooks. At the end of cooking I usually stir in a spoonful of yoghurt or cream to make it creamier. A dollop of pesto can also be used to add flavour. Mix sauce with pasta and serve, saving any spare for tomorrow's lunch. Top with grated cheese (preferably Cathedral City cheddar) for extra Phoebe points.
