Skip to main content

Fresh Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce

There's nothing more authentic than homemade fresh tomato and basil pasta sauce in an Italian household. No matter how hard one may try it's virtually impossible to obtain that very special, sweet aroma from a tin of chopped tomatoes or bottled pasta sauce, it doesn't come close! This sauce takes all of 20mins to prepare, so what are you waiting for? Reach for the pan and get cooking!

Ingredients:
(Serves Two)
  • 3-4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Clove of Garlic, whole
  • 300g Cherry Tomatoes/ Baby Plum Tomatoes (on the vine)
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Puree
  • Handful of Fresh Basil, chopped
  • A generous pinch of salt
Chop the tomatoes in half, set aside.

Heat a pan on medium heat, peel the garlic clove.

Add the olive oil and garlic to the pan, allow the oil take on the flavour of the garlic for 1-2mins.

Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and pinch of salt mixing well, bring to a simmer.

Lower the flame and simmer for 10mins, add the basil 2mins before you are ready to take off the heat, remove the garlic clove.

Serve with a pasta of your choice (I love tortellini or freshly made pasta) toppped with grated Parmesan. You could also use this recipe as a base for cooking white fish in the oven with black olives and capers "alla pizzaiola"... but that's another recipe I will share in good time!

The Italian art of simplicity...




Tried It? Liked It? Tweaked It? Let me know!

Patz x

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chickpea Burgers

I am conscious of what I eat during the week and that variety is important so not to get bored and reach for the biscuit tin, time is also a big constraint on what goes on the menu. The last thing I want to do after a long day’s work is sweat over a hot stove for hours on end, so I am always looking for simple, quick and more importantly TASTY options to bring to the dining table. Ingredients: 1 can of chickpeas 1 carrot 2 shallots 1 large egg 2 tbsp breadcrumbs Salt & pepper Ground Cumin Cayenne Pepper Grate the carrots and chop the shallots finely (or whizz in a food processor with the grater attachment), transfer to a pan with a little olive oil and sweat for a few minutes to sweeten the shallots slightly, set aside.         Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them into a food processor with all the spices, salt and pepper. Slightly pulse for a rough and chunky paste. Stir in the carrot, shallots, egg, and breadcrumbs until evenly mixed. Time to get you

Oaty Crumble

A crumble isn't a crumble if the topping isn't right... am I right? I’ve experimented with this topping recipe quite a few times and now confident saying that you will find this gluten free oatilicious crumble to be so moorish you won’t want to put it down, whatever the filling.  Even when cold and of the next day it’s incredibly tasty and keeps its crunch, a real breakfast temptation. What’s more there is no dairy or refined sugar in sight! In today's post I have provided two different filling options: Apple & Blackberry Apple & Rhubarb There is something about foraged fruit or indeed fruit from the garden in a recipe that makes it taste unbelievably scrumptious. Thanks to my friend Gina for the handpicked cooking apples (they were of the perfect tartness!), the blackberries on the other hand were freshly picked from a nearby park and even though they were smaller than previous years, the sweetness they added to the crumble made for an incredibly delicious

Feta & Spinach Pizza Rustica

This recipe is a take on the "Matonella Materana", a fast food snack filled with ham and cheese that I adore when I visit my fatherland. My version is slightly healthier and by no means less tasty; it will be love at first bite !   Ingredients: (Serves Four-Six) Jus-Roll Puff Pastry  (x2 250g) Flour for dusting Tomato Puree 350g Feta Cheese 250g Spinach Leaves 1 Egg, beaten   Preheat Oven to 190C. You will need a standard oven baking tray approx: 36cm x 34cm Dust a clean surface with flour before placing the puff pastry pieces down for rolling, roll to the dimensions of your baking tray ensuring each piece fits snugly. Dust the baking tray with flour and lie the base piece of puff pastry onto the tray. Spread a generous amount of tomato puree on the pastry leaving a 1cm border all the way round the base. Crumble 200g of feta cheese onto the base, add the spinach keeping the 1cm border clear, then scatter the remaining 150g of feta cheese on top. Co