Tomato sauce, salsa di pomodoro, Aaron's pasta palazzo, a growing archive of all that is pasta

SALSA DI POMODORO

Classic tomato sauce Version No.1

Makes about 600ml (20 fl oz) of Sauce

This is actually pizzaiola my sauce for Pizza bases. The flavour is so good that it seems a pity to meet it only when smothered with pizza toppings. It is excellent with stuffed pasta, spaghetti and fusilli. it's also delicious with grilled chicken or turkey escalopes, marinated in a little olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.
It will keep for up to a week in the refridgerator, and freezes quite well.

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of onion, very finely chopped
3 cloves of juicy garlic, finely chopped
1kilo (2¼lb) ripe tomatoes, peeled or
2 × 800g (14oz) tins of Italian tomatoes or
a combination of the two
½ teaspoon dried oregano
handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
1 bayleaf
¼ teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Place a sieve over a bowl, strain the tomatoes and any juice through the sieve using a wooden spoon or pestle and set aside (discard any debris left in the sieve, but make sure that you don't waste any pulp stuck to the outside).

Heat the oil in a pan and gently sweat the finely chopped onion until soft but not coloured, about two minutes. Add all of the other ingredients and a few grindings of pepper then simmer for two hours, uncovered. Remove the bay leaf.

If desired you can process the sauce in a blender or pass through the sieve again. It gives the sauce a more homogenous flavour.