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Italian tomato sauce

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Preparation information

  • About 25 minutes
  • About 2 hours cooking

Quantity

  • 12 generous serves
  • Ingredients
  • Ingredients in grey are optional.
  • 250gr tomato paste
  • 1.2kg crushed or diced tomatoes in tin
  • 1 brown onion
  • 1 red onion
  • 3~5 garlic cloves
  • 2 or 3 carrots
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • [2 tablespoon chilli oil]{.optional}
  • Margarine
  • 4 tablespoon mixed herbs
  • 1~2 tablespoon oregano leaves
  • 1 level tablespoon dry garden parsley
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 level tablespoon rock salt or sea salt
  • 1~2 tea spoon black pepper ground
  • [1~2 level tablespoon Sweet paprika ground]{.optional}
  • [1 teaspoon Cinnamon ground]{.optional}
  • [1 orange chilli (fresh)]{.optional}
  • [½ red capsicum]{.optional}
  • [20~30 Kalamata olives with or without chilli]{.optional}

Preparation

  • Peel the garlic clove and slice thinly
  • Peel the carrots, cut in 4cm chunk and make 4 sticks of each chunk
  • [Remove all seeds from the chilli and slice thinly]{.optional}
  • Finely chop the onions, brown them in a large pot until golden/brown [with the chilli oil]{.optional}

Cooking

In the large pot, on top of the golden onion, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, carrot sticks, bay leaves, mixed herbs, oregano, garden parsley, bay leaves, [sweet paprika, cinnamon, chilli, capsicum, olives]{.optional}, salt and pepper. Cover. Stir until the sauce is uniform. Medium heat for 15 minutes (boiling). Then reduce to low heat but maintain low boiling. Stir every 15 minutes for at least 2 hours. Make sure to bring the bottom of the pot to the top, so the ingredients don't burn. You may reduce the sauce by removing any extra water from the top or removing the lid. Once the sauce thickens, add the olive oil and cook for an extra 10 minutes on low heat.

Serving

You can serve the warm carrots as appetiser along with the sauce and other dips.

Unfreeze and gently reheat the sauce. Make pasta, rice and pour on top when serving. The sauce also works well with fish like barramundi and swordfish.

Long conservation

The sauce may be kept in the fridge for a maximum of one week. Though, it is possible to keep it for longer in a clean jar.

  • While the sauce is still very hot, reuse the tomato paste jar (or any jar with a clicking lid) and pour the sauce in (you may remove the carrot sticks). Leave 3 to 4cm on the top.
  • Close the jar with the appropriate clicking lid
  • Wait until cool and place in freezer