Mix n Match Tomato and Basil Sauce.

Here, I’ve written a recipe for a basic tomato sauce, using fresh ingredients, all of which are inexpensive. The beauty of this sauce is you can make it in bulk, store in the fridge for a few days, or freeze it in portions. It’s up to your imagination as to what you’d like to use the sauce for. The sky’s the limit!

I’ve used it combined with pasta, gnocchi, as a base for Spaghetti Bolognese, with chicken in a tomato type stroganoff, the possibilities are endless!

At the end of the recipe I have also written a very quick and easy chicken and tomato sauce recipe. My family loves it and we make it often!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: Approx 15 minutes
Yield: 2

Ingredients

6 medium tomatoes. (try to get the reddest ones, or vine tomatoes if your budget will allow – they are fuller in flavour. If you can’t get fresh tomatoes, 1 tin of chopped tomatoes works)
2 cloves garlic – crushed
2 medium onions
6-7 medium-sized mushroom (optional)
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
1 tablespoon olive oil
half-dozen fresh basil leaves (try to get a pot of growing fresh basil, always handy to add a fresh flavour to your meals)
½ teaspoon sugar
350 ml or 1 ½ cups hot water
salt & pepper

If you want to make in bulk for the freezer, just multiply the amounts

Instructions

1. Boil the kettle (full)
2. Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut a cross through the tomato skin at their bases.
3. Place tomatoes in a deep bowl and pour the boiling water over the tomatoes until they are all submerged. Leave until the skins start to peel away.
4. Drain the hot water from the tomatoes and peel the skin away. The skin should come off easily. If not, pop in the microwave for 30 seconds or add some more boiling water. Cut the tomatoes length ways and remove the white pith and the top where the stalk would have been. Chop the tomatoes into 1cm pieces.
5. Chop onions roughly to ½ cm pieces. Crush garlic cloves
6. Clean and chop mushroom into quarters or smaller.
7. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the mushrooms if you are using them. Cook them until they turn brown. Add the chopped onions and stir on a low heat. Cook until the onions turn translucent in colour. Be careful not to let them go brown as this will make the sauce taste bitter.
8. Once the onions have changed to translucent, add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, and tomato puree. Add the hot water. Give it a stir so everything is combined well.
9. Add the sugar, twist of salt & pepper and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes on a low heat.
10. The sauce should have reduced and thickened a little. If you want the sauce to be thicker, simmer for a bit longer. If the sauce is too thick, add some more hot water.
11. Once ready, turn the heat off and tear a few basil leaves up and mix into the sauce. Taste again incase it needs more salt & pepper.

The sauce can then be transferred into a bowl to cool down, and once cool, it will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days, or you can freeze it in portions. I like to put the cooled down sauce into those ziplock type bags and put in the freezer as they take up less space. When you want to reheat the sauce, just before serving, add a few fresh basil leaves and you will be surprised at how fresh the sauce will smell and taste!
If you want to spice the sauce up a little you can add a few drops of Tabasco sauce, or Worcestershire sauce.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Here's a quick chicken recipe using the Tomato Sauce
An idea if you would like to use chicken with the sauce, you will need;
1 skinless chicken breast or 2 skinless, boneless thighs, cut into 1cm thick strips
1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 Tablespoons cold water

Instructions:
1. Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper.
2.Combine the cornstarch and water
3. Add the chicken pieces to the cornstarch mixture and combine well so it is all coated.
4. On a medium heat, place the chicken strips in a pan with a touch of hot oil and lightly fry until brown.
5. Add to the hot tomato sauce and leave to simmer gently for 5-7 minutes. (check the chicken is cooked by breaking a piece in half) .
6. Turn off heat and break a few fresh basil leaves into the sauce. Serve with some pasta or rice.

The cornstarch is used to give the chicken a ‘velvety’ texture and stop it from drying out. particularly when using chicken breast.
Enjoy!

Print

Mix n Match Tomato and Basil Sauce

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 6 in medium tomatoes. (try to get the reddest ones or vine tomatoes if your budget will allow – they are fuller flavour. If you can’t get fresh tomatoes, 1 tin of chopped tomatoes works)
• 2 cloves garlic – crushed
• 2 medium onions
• 6-7 medium-sized mushroom optional
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• leaves half-dozen fresh basil (try to get a pot of growing fresh basil always handy to add a fresh flavour to your meals)
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 350 ml or 1 ½ cups hot water
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Boil the kettle (full). Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut a cross through the tomato skin at their bases.
2. Place tomatoes in a deep bowl and pour the boiling water over the tomatoes until they are all submerged. Leave until the skins start to peel away.
3. Drain the hot water from the tomatoes and peel the skin away. The skin should come off easily. If not, pop in the microwave for 30 seconds or add some more boiling water. Cut the tomatoes length ways and remove the white pith and the top where the stalk would have been. Chop the tomatoes into 1cm pieces.
4. Chop onions roughly to ½ cm pieces. Crush garlic cloves. Clean and chop mushroom into quarters or smaller.
5. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the mushrooms if you are using them. Cook them until they turn brown. Add the chopped onions and stir on a low heat. Cook until the onions turn translucent in colour. Be careful not to let them go brown as this will make the sauce taste bitter.
6. Once the onions have changed to translucent, add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, and tomato puree. Add the hot water. Give it a stir so everything is combined well.
7. Add the sugar, twist of salt & pepper and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes on a low heat.
8. The sauce should have reduced and thickened a little. If you want the sauce to be thicker, simmer for a bit longer. If the sauce is too thick, add some more hot water.
9. Once ready, turn the heat off and tear a few basil leaves up and mix into the sauce. Taste again incase it needs more salt & pepper.