How to make your own unique Italian tomato sauce recipe

You might think that Italians, with all those incredible tomatoes growing in their gardens, would always favour them over the tinned variety. But in fact, the quality of tinned tomatoes is so good these days that they’re generally better suited for sauces. If you have access to incredibly fresh, beautifully ripe tomatoes (which are hard to come by except in the very peak of the season) then you want to celebrate them by serving them raw; when making a sauce, tinned varieties are readily available, contain peeled tomatoes (so you don’t end up with shrivelled skins) and come in a variety of forms. There are whole plum tomatoes which can be crushed and cooked slowly; chopped for a chunkier, rustic sauce or passata for something much smoother and uniform. You can even get tinned tomatoes made with specific varieties such as Pomodorini, Datterini or Tuscan.

Many of the great dishes of Italy require gentle cooking over a long period of time, with a pot emanating delicious aromas and the soothing pop pop pop of bubbles whilst it simmers away. If you’re making a meaty ragù for pasta or a rich, intense beef dish, then low and slow is key. When it comes to tomato sauces, however, you can go both ways – a long slow cooking time will break down the tomatoes into a dark, jammy state, with their red colour intensifying and the flavour getting deeper. If you’re in a rush, however, don’t fret – this is actually a better way to create a tomato sauce if you’re after something lighter, fresher, sweeter and more acidic. A brisk simmer (uncovered) for twenty minutes should be long enough for the tomatoes to break down and create a uniform sauce whilst ensuring those top-note flavours are kept intact.

Think of Italian cooking and nearly every first step of a recipe involves a few glugs of olive oil in a pan. But a lot of cooks will use butter when making a tomato sauce, especially if they’re after a richer, more decadent, velvety finish. The creaminess of the butter contrasts nicely with the bright acidity of the tomatoes, and the two combine to create a flavourful sauce that’s perfect for richer, wintry dishes. Don’t ignore oil completely, however – if you’re after a lighter, fruitier tomato sauce, a spoon of olive oil will help get the tomatoes cooking. A final drizzle just before serving will give the sauce a more prominent olive oil flavour.

A tomato sauce is rarely 100% tomatoes (although if that’s what you like, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that) – most cooks will add a few aromatics to make it a little more interesting. Garlic is the most common, but it’s incorporated in different ways. Finely mincing a clove or two into a paste then frying it until just starting to colour will result in the strongest garlic flavour, but you can also keep the garlic cloves whole, fry them in a little oil or butter and then remove them either before or after you cook the tomatoes. The key is to not let the garlic turn dark brown – this will give the sauce an acrid bitter taste.

A lot of cooks will also use onion for added depth and sweetness, which leaves you with the same choice. You can finely chop it and fry until softened before adding the tomatoes for added texture and a more pronounced flavour, or simply peel and halve the onion, add it to the tomatoes while they cook and then remove them before serving.