Nothing beats a homemade tomato sauce! And as it is extremely simple to make there is absolutely no excuse not to make it yourself! Shop-bought jars of tomato sauce are often full of artificial flavouring, salt, and sugar. You can avoid all of that rubbish, by simply using a carton of tomato passata, a few chopped vegetables, and some seasoning. Et voilà, your healthy, homemade tomato sauce is ready!
You could serve this sauce with any type of pasta you like, ranging from penne, farfalle, spaghetti to tagliatelle. I love using bavette pasta, which is a little wider than spaghetti and a little smaller than tagliatelle.
Like a true Italian, I add my pasta to the sauce. First, I cook my sauce in a big saucepan before adding the cooked pasta and tossing it well.
To finish it is a delicious addition to sprinkle some chopped or grated mozzarella on top and leave it to melt into the pasta and sauce. Garnish with a little chopped basil to make it look pretty.
RECIPE TIP:
This homemade tomato sauce is also perfect for batch cooking. Simply double up the recipe and remove some of the sauce before stirring in the cooked pasta. Spoon the tomato sauce into a tupperware and store in the fridge for 1-2 days. When ready to eat, cook some more pasta. Once drained (remember to save some pasta water!) use the same pot to re-heat your tomato sauce. Thin it out with some of the pasta water. Once it´s hot stir in the freshly cooked pasta, top with the mozzarella cheese and finish with some basil.
This homemade tomato sauce recipe is perfect for students! If you are looking for other student-friendly recipes, why not give this healthy wrap pizza a try? Alternatively, check out some of my cooking recipes here.
Homemade Tomato Sauce with Tagliatelle
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 2):
- 200g pasta of your choosing
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ red pepper, cut into small cubes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 300ml of passata
- salt, pepper
- mozzarella cheese, grated or ripped into pieces
- basil, to serve
Method:
- Before you start cooking, make sure you have chopped all your vegetables and have weighed out your pasta.
- Bring a big pot of water to the boil and add some sea salt to the water. Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions. Once ready, save some of the cooking water to use for the sauce. Drain the pasta, then cover with a lid and set aside for later.
- Whilst your pasta is cooking, start making the sauce. First, heat a little olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onions and leave to cook for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add in the minced garlic and stir. Next, mix in the tomato purée and leave to cook for a minute before adding the red pepper. Leave to cook for about 2 minutes. Then pour in the passata. Wait until the tomato sauce starts to bubble. Add small amounts of pasta water at a time, to get the consistency that you want. The pasta water adds a nice flavour to the sauce, however, you don´t want to make it too watery. Season the sauce with some salt and pepper.
- Pour in the strained pasta and mix until all the pasta is coated in the sauce. Sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese and wait for it to melt a little. Scatter with some freshly chopped basil leaves to serve.
- ENJOY!
