Name: Sugo di pomodoro (Plain tomato sauce)
Yield: For 4–6 Helpings of Pasta
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 1 kg/2 lb 4 oz fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered, or 2 × 400 g/14 oz cans plum tomatoes; 1 tsp sugar; salt and freshly ground black pepper; a large sprig of parsley; 1 bay leaf; 1 onion, quartered; 1 tsp tomato purée (paste); 1 small celery stalk, cut into pieces; 1 garlic clove

Preparation info

For
4–6
Helpings of Pasta

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Anna Del Conte on Pasta

By Anna Del Conte

Published 2015

About

This tomato sauce can be used on its own, or as a base for sauces that include other ingredients. Add a kilo of clams (vongole verace/ palourdes) and you have a perfect sauce for a dish of spaghetti alle vongole, or throw in three or four cleaned and sliced squid, or some small fried meatballs.

Ingredients

1 kg/2 lb 4 oz fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered, or 2 × 400

Method

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and boil over moderate heat, uncovered, until the onion is soft, approximately 30 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent sticking.

Remove the bay leaf and whizz the sauce in a food processor. If you wish to use the sauce at once, simply reheat gently and pour it over freshly cooked pasta that has been tossed with olive oil and/or butter.