This is officially my favourite tomato sauce, ever! The slow roasted are the game changer, they add an incredible depth of flavour and richness to the sauce. I am honestly hooked, I don’t think I will be able to make tomato pasta in any other way. The olives and sun-dried tomatoes add a delicious saltiness which makes the sauce even more flavourful.

Ingredients:

Serves 2-3 people

250g of cherry tomatoes – cut in half 

1 tin (400g) of good quality chopped tomatoes 

3 fat garlic cloves – crushed 

1 bunch of fresh basil (about 20-30g) – roughly chopped 

5 sun-dried tomatoes – chopped in small pieces 

A generous handful of pitted olives ( I used Kalamata) – chopped 

1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 

Salt & pepper to taste 

Serve with: your favourite pasta – I used spaghetti 

Add the cherry tomatoes (flesh facing up) to a large baking tray. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast in the oven at 130 degrees Celsius for 35-40 minutes until they have reduced in size and they are soft an squidgy. 

In the meantime make the rest of the tomato sauce. Add the olive oil to a pan and once hot add in the tinned tomatoes. Cook for few minutes until it starts to bubble. Add in the crushed garlic, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and olives and stir everything together. Fill the tin halfway with cold water and add that to the pan as well. Cook uncovered on a low simmer for 20-25 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken up. 

Cook the pasta according to the cooking instructions.

Remove the roasted tomatoes from the oven an add them to the pan with the sauce ( make sure to reserve some to sprinkle on top of the pasta) together with the chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce, mix everything together and serve with the remaining slow roasted tomatoes and some basil leaves.