A homemade tomato sauce should be smooth and velvety, covering the pasta perfectly without overpowering the other flavours in the dish. Roberta d’Elia, Head Chef at Pasta Evangelists, delivers exactly that with this recipe, which is simple to prep in just 15 minutes and serves six.
Chef Roberta’s top three tips focus on ripeness, roasting, and freshness, each one enhancing the natural sweetness and depth of the fruit. “Tomatoes are best fit for cooking when they are slightly over-ripe,” she advised, and slow-roasting them intensifies their flavour even further. Most importantly, she warned against keeping your tomatoes in the fridge, stressing: “For a richer taste, buy (or grow!) your tomatoes fresh and cook them as soon as you have them.”
Slow-roasted tomato sauce recipe
Ingredients
• 1kg vine-ripened tomatoes, removed from vines and halved
• Four cloves garlic, crushed
• Two tsp demerara sugar
•Two 2tbsp tomato purée
• Two tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Set the oven to 190C to preheat. Take a large roasting tray and lay the halved tomatoes cut-side up in a single, even layer.
Tuck the crushed garlic cloves among the tomatoes, pressing them into the flesh where possible so they infuse the fruit as they cook. Lightly scatter the sugar across the top, along with a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper.
Distribute the tomato purée across the tray using a spoon to ensure an even spread, then finish by drizzling the surface with a few glugs of olive oil.
Place the tray in the oven and roast for roughly one hour, or until the tomatoes are meltingly soft and catching slightly at the edges. Begin checking at the forty-minute mark to avoid burning.
Once cooked, remove the tray from the oven, scatter over the chopped basil, and use a fork to gently mash the tomatoes, creating a rich, chunky sauce.
This is best served spooned over freshly cooked pasta – the chef recommends orecchiette for an authentic Puglian touch – and topped with a fine grating of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Dining and Cooking