Basic tomato sauce

• olive oil↗4 tbsp tbsp
• onions↗2

  finely chopped

• carrots↗2

  finely chopped

• celery sticks↗2

  finely chopped

• garlic cloves↗2

  crushed

• bay leaves↗2
• sugar↗1 tsp tsp
• canned tomatoes4 x 400g/14oz cans

  400g/14oz each

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a pan and add the vegetables and bay leaf. Stir in the sugar with some salt. Gently cook for 10-15 mins until the veg is tender. Stir in the tomatoes and 150ml water. Simmer very gently for 30 mins until the sauce has reduced by two-thirds and is very thick. (If you have doubled or tripled the quantities, this may take up to 1 hr.)

2. 2

   Stir occasionally, particularly towards the end of the cooking time, so that the sauce doesn’t catch on the bottom. If you like your sauce a little thinner, add a splash of water. Serve half with pasta and chill or freeze other half in 1-2 batches for later use (see 'Goes well with' for ideas of how to use up your sauce).