This is a simple and quick red sauce that goes great with pasta and spaghetti. Total time is approx. 30 minutes including preparation. As always, you get out of food what you put in, so the fresher the ingredients the better the result! If you are looking to cheat you can use a can of chopped tomatoes. Choose a can that is free from preservatives – ideally you want a can of tomatoes in water! If you don’t have fresh herbs, use dried ones. I’ve tried the dried ones and they work just fine.
Homemade Red Sauce Recipe
Makes enough for two.
6 tomatoes / can of tomatoes
2 small onions
Oregano (dried or fresh)
Thyme (dried or fresh)
Basil (Dried or fresh)
1/2 carrot
dash olive oil
Salt to season
Dice the onion and carrot small and toss into a pan with the olive oil. Leave sautee until the onions are translucent and soft.
While the onions and carrot cook, peel the tomatoes (dunk them in hot water for a few seconds to soften the skins) and roughly chop.
When the onions are soft, throw the tomatoes into the pan (or the tin of tomatoes) along with a healthy dose of basil, thyme and corriander. I usually toss in 2-3 pinches of each. If you have never seasoned with herbs before, start with 1 pinch of each, stir and leave to cook for five minutes. Then taste it and add more if required.
Cover the dish and allow simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes. Use a blender to mush it into a sauce of consistency that suits you. I add salt (coarse, natural, sea salt) once this is done (you may wish to add pepper as well). Return to the heat for a few minutes. If you want to thicken the sauce, leave simmer without the lid on.
The great thing about this recipe is the ease it can be thrown together and it’s significant health benefits. Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene (which makes the tomatoes red) but which is also an antioxidant and is said to protect the body against most types of cancers.New research suggests that cooked tomatoes release even more of this lycopene. Tomatoes are also a rich source of vitamins A, C and E.
Tomatoes are high in calories and low in fat – this sauce would be great for anybody on a weight loss dies.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, tomatoes are regarded as cool in nature and are good for healthy digestion, detoxification and promoting fluid generation.
You can make this sauce in bulk and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.