This is such a simple recipe and yet one of the most requested. This is my go-to-go super simple recipe when it comes homemade tomato sauce. The slow roasted tomatoes are totally optional and if you are in a hurry you can leave them out. They are more for those days when you don’t mind spending extra time in the kitchen. 

To add extra veggies to the sauce you can also add in a finely chopped carrot together with the onion. You might need to cook it for an extra 5-10 minutes and make sure to blend it all up at the end. If you want to add some greens just stir through and handful of baby spinach at the end when mixing the sauce with the pasta. 

You can also double the recipe and either store it on the freezer or in the fridge for 5-6 days. 

Ingredients:

Makes enough for 3-4 people 

1 small white onion – finely chopped 

3 garlic cloves – minced 

1 tin of good quality chopped tomatoes or passata

A generous handful of fresh basil leaves – roughly chopped  + extra to sprinkle on top 

1 tbsp of olive oil for frying

A generous pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning 

For the slow roasted tomatoes:

About 250gr of cherry tomatoes 

A generous drizzle of olive oil 

Salt and pepper to taste

To serve: your favourite pasta – I love bucatini 

Slice the tomatoes in halves. Place them on baking tray with the flesh facing upwards. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tray in the oven and slow roast the tomatoes at 150 degrees Celsius for 35-40 minutes. Make sure not to roast the tomatoes at higher temperature otherwise they will end up looking like a tomato sauce, you want to cook them slowly at a low temperatures they will keep their shape, almost like sundried tomatoes.

In the meantime make the tomato sauce. Add the oil to a large pan. Once hot add in the chopped onion. Let the onion sauté for about 5 minutes until it starts to caramelise and going slightly brown. Add in the crushed garlic and keep cooking for another minute. 

Add in the chopped tomatoes and mix everything together. Turn the heat down to a simmer, cover with a lid and let the sauce cook for 20-25 minutes. I like my tomato sauce really smooth so I normally blend it all up using a hand blender (regular blender will work too). You can also have it as it is without blending, I guess it comes down to personal preference 🙂 

 Add in the chopped basil and cook for another minute. 

While the sauce cook also cook your favourite pasta according to the packet instructions.

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the fresh basil leaves and top it with the slow roasted cherry tomatoes.