PLUM TOMATO SAUCE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Peel and finely chop the garlic, then gently fry in a thick-bottomed pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Crumble in the chilli, add the oregano and tomatoes.
  2. Mix gently, but do not break up the tomatoes as this will release the pips, which will make the sauce slightly bitter – by leaving the tomatoes whole and letting the mixture cook slowly you’ll get a nice sweet sauce. (You can remove the pips from the tomatoes if you want, but I don’t bother.) Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 1 hour.
  3. Add the vinegar to the pan, then stir and chop up the tomatoes in the sauce.
  4. Pick the basil or marjoram and roughly chop, then add to the pan.
  5. Season well to taste with sea salt and black pepper, and finish with 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Steps:

• 1. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick the basil leaves and tear into pieces.
  2. Place a large non-stick frying pan on the heat and pour in 4 generous lugs of olive oil. Add the garlic, shake the pan around a bit and, once the garlic begins to colour lightly, add the basil and the tomatoes. Using the back of a wooden spoon, mush and squash the tomatoes as much as you can.
  3. Season the sauce with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove the pan from the heat.
  4. Strain the sauce through a coarse sieve into a bowl, using your wooden spoon to push any larger bits of tomato through. Discard the basil and garlic that will be left in the sieve, but make sure you scrape any of the tomatoey goodness off the back of the sieve into the bowl.
  5. Pour the sauce back into the pan, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes to concentrate the flavours. It will be ready when it’s the perfect consistency for spreading on your pizza.
  6. Store the sauce in a clean jar in the fridge – it’ll keep for a week or so.