7-veg tomato sauce | Vegetable recipe | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to making a rich tomato sauce? ›

Texture-wise, fat adds a rich, mouth-coating feel to a sauce, both when it's broken out of the sauce on its own, and when it is emulsified with the sauce's liquid phase, making the whole thing creamier. Add a bit of butter in there as well.

Peel and finely slice the garlic, then place in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir regularly until lightly golden. Pour in the tomatoes, either scrunching them through your hands, or breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Let it simmer on a low heat until your pasta is cooked.

Add fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, bay leaf), and let them simmer to give a punch of fresh flavor.

Add butter

Yes, that's right. Toss in a few tablespoons of butter, and let it melt into the sauce. If you've never tried it before, it might seem strange, but a little butter makes tomato sauce rich and smooth, and also balances out too much acidity, which is common in jarred sauces.

A generous sprig or two of fresh herbs like basil, parsley, rosemary, or sage can all amp up the flavor of a jarred pasta sauce. Alternatively, some of those herbs, like parsley, sage, and rosemary, can be great minced up and gently fried into fresh olive oil before adding the sauce to the pot.

The reason for sprinkling a pinch of sugar into a simmering saucepan of tomatoes is simple: sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and creates an overall more balanced sauce. The exact acid levels in tomatoes can vary quite a bit depending on whether they're fresh or canned, the tomato variety, and the time of year.

Fresh tomatoes: Try to stick with plum tomatoes, like Roma, San Marzano, and cherry tomatoes. Be sure to peel the tomatoes (and remove the seeds, if you like, but it's not necessary). White sugar: The sugar will balance out the acidity and give the sauce a hint of sweetness.

If you're using a plain tomato (marinara) sauce, stir in seasonings to add extra flavor. Red pepper flakes, dehydrated or fresh garlic, dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or an Italian seasoning blend are all good options.

Does cooking tomato sauce longer make it better? ›

Tomato sauce deepens and intensifies the longer you cook it. Tomato sauces can be cooked in 10 minutes or for 4 hours, and they can all be delicious.

Leaf states that this can be due to burning the sauce in the pot or simply dealing with a batch of produce that are overly acidic or metallic from canning or cooking. This can also come from under-ripe or low-quality tomatoes, as well as stirring in a hefty amount of tomato paste, per Boss The Kitchen.

To ensure a uniform, smooth texture. Tomato skins are tough and hard to chew, so removing them before you make sauces – especially canned sauces – is important. Avoid bitter flavor.

In most cases, the reason is that it hasn't been simmered long enough. You see, fresh tomatoes contain a lot of liquids, which are released during cooking. And if you don't give them time to evaporate, your sauce will be diluted.

Most tomato sauce recipes are based on canned tomatoes, and canning companies carefully regulate the pH level of their products. So, the need to add sugar to tomato sauce is declining, but there may still be exceptions. It's best to make your sauce without sugar at first, then taste it and add a pinch if necessary.

Cheese it up.

A dollop of ricotta or mascarpone adds lightly sweet creaminess, while soft goat cheese or even a humble cream cheese adds tangy richness to elevate dull tomato sauce. A generous sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese makes any plate of pasta look all dressed up, while adding a welcome kick of umami.

Adding butter at the end of cooking to your sauce will bring a beautiful glossiness to the sauce and a richness to the taste. It won't dramatically alter the thickness but it will give your sauce a lift. Make sure you add the butter to the sauce off the heat otherwise it will split.