Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes!

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes

With a dearth of tomato pasta sauce at supermarkets due to COVID, now is the best time to learn how to make a delicious home made tomato pasta sauce. This recipe uses tinned or fresh tomatoes and is so delicious and easy you may never buy it again!

Why is this tomato pasta sauce so good? This recipe comes from my Italian chef friend and food twin Monica from Lulus Sydney who makes it often. Monica bases it on the famous tomato pasta sauce recipe from Marcella Hazan but adds her own flair so that it can definitely be called her own. The beauty of this recipe is that you oven roast the tomatoes so there's no stirring on the stovetop. Oven roasting also brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes and onions.

There's only a few ingredients needed. All you need are: tomatoes and you can use fresh or tinned, onions, garlic, anchovies and butter or oil. The anchovies are Monica's touch and they are to add a depth of flavour rather than fishiness to the sauce.

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes

Which tomatoes? At this point any tomatoes will do! Roma, round or tinned tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes can also work. You can also use whole peeled tinned tomatoes instead of crushed. If you can get San Marzano tinned tomatoes use these (these Italian plum tomatoes are sweeter, with less acidity and fewer seeds than other varieties).

Optional flavours: add chilli flakes, fresh chillies, olives, capers or basil. My favourite combination was the tinned tomato pasta sauce that was unblended with sliced black olives. I also popped in a few basil leaves on top of every jar of the pasta sauce before I closed the lid.

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes
Tinned tomato version

Vegan Tomato Pasta Sauce: this tomato pasta sauce can easily be made vegan-see recipe below. I honestly could not choose one that I'd prefer over the other because I added olives and chilli flakes to the vegan one to boost the flavour.

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes
Fresh tomato version

Please note: blending your sauce will make it lighter and more red-orange in colour. If you want that vibrant dark red, keep it unblended and chop up the tomatoes a bit smaller.

Which pasta sauce is better: tinned or fresh? I found the fresh tomatoes sweeter but preferred the flavour intensity of the tinned tomatoes. But then again I'm someone that has been known to eat tomato paste because I love tomatoes so damn much.

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes
Fresh tomato sauce (left) vs tinned tomatoes (right)

Can you preserve these jars of tomato pasta sauce? Yes!! To preserve or bottle your jars of sauce do the following. The jars of pasta sauce will last for 2 years.

1 - Start with clean jars and lids
2 - Ladle the sauce into the jars leaving 1cm or half an inch space from the top. Wipe rims with clean cloth and screw the lids on tightly.
3 - Place the jars in a large preserving pan (or use a tall pot) with simmering water that covers the top of the jars. Simmer for 45 minutes. Cool and then remove from the water. These bottled pasta sauces can now last for up to 2 years.

Label your jars with dated labels. I found these cute free labels online at Paper and Pear.

I used up several precious tins of tomatoes and made myself a few big batches of this sauce I loved it so much. There is a current limit on tinned tomatoes, although not fresh so go wild!

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes

Nina and Garth have been hoarding, well their version of it. Garth tasked Nina with purchasing things for Armageddon however things didn't exactly go according to plan.

Nina returned from shopping with two bags of pasta and four tins of tomatoes. "What this? How is that supposed to last us for 2 weeks?" Garth asked incredulously. "I thought we'd have to reduce the amount we ate if we couldn't go out," said Nina.

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes
Tinned tomato pasta sauce after 1 hour

Then when it came to using the tinned tomatoes Garth wanted to pour the straight tinned tomatoes over pasta. Nina stopped him. "I think we're supposed to do something with the tomatoes," she said uncertainly. I asked Nina what happened. Did they end up eating it or making the tinned tomatoes into a sauce?

"It's still in the tins. It will remain there forever," she responded.

So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite type of pasta sauce: tomato or cream based? What have you found difficult to procure?

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes
Tinned tomato version before blending

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes

Did you make this recipe? Share your creations by tagging @notquitenigella on Instagram with the hashtag #notquitenigella
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Adapted by Lorraine Elliott from an recipe by Monica Luppi

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours

Makes 3x400ml/14oz jars of sauce

  • 800g/28ozs. tomatoes (chopped tinned or chopped fresh)
  • 400ml/14flozs. water
  • 2 large onions, peeled and cut into sixths or eighths
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  • 3-4 anchovies
  • 120g/4ozs. butter, cubed
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes
After 1 hour using fresh tomatoes

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 170C/340F and place the tomatoes, water, onions, garlic, anchovies and butter in a large baking tray. Roast for 2 hours stirring at the 1 hour mark. Season with sugar, salt and pepper. Keep chunky or blitz up once cooled.

Tomato Pasta Sauce From Scratch Using Tinned Or Fresh Tomatoes
After 2 hours using fresh tomatoes

Vegan Tomato Pasta Sauce

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours

Makes 3x400ml/14oz jars of sauce

  • 800g/28ozs. tomatoes (tinned or fresh)
  • 400ml/14flozs. water
  • 2 large onions, peeled and cut into sixths or eighths
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  • 2 teaspoons capers (rinsed)
  • 2 teaspoons chilli flakes
  • 120ml/4flozs. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 170C/340F and place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, capers, chilli flakes and olive oil in a large baking tray. Roast for 2 hours stirring at the 1 hour mark. Season with sugar, salt and pepper. Keep chunky or blitz up once cooled. Add olives.

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