This may seem an obvious recipe, but its so simple and tastes so good it needs writing down. This simple to make sauce creates an amazingly rich tomato sauce with basil flavours that can be use on pasta or for pizza topping.
This uses 2 tins of Italian chopped tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of dried oregano, Italian herbs, a big glug of olive oil and (the one ingredient that must be in the sauce) a big handful of fresh basil leaves added at the end.
Begin by putting a glug of olive oil into a saucepan and the dried oregano and gently warm to release the oregano flavours.
Next, add the tins of chopped tomatoes and bring back to a simmer.
While the tomatoes are simmering use a potato masher to mash the sauce to remove the lumps and make it smooth. Note, using a hand blender will turn the sauce a light pink and the deep redness disappears, so use the hand masher, it doesn’t take long.
Now, simmer the tomatoes until it reduces to a thick consistency. Once its ready, take off the heat and let it cool a little. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Now tear all the basil and place in the pan and stir. once the basil has wilted it’s ready.
Serve with your favourite pasta or let it cool and use on a pizza base.
Fresh Basil 
use a potato masher to make smooth 
cook until reduced and take off heat 
take off the heat and let put in torn basil into 
Basil stirred in and adding flavour. 
Tomato sauce with fresh basil
Equipment
- potato masher
Ingredients
- 2 cans of chopped tomatoes for 2
- 1 large handful of fresh basil leaves, more if making a lot
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt and a grind of black pepper to taste
Method
- Begin by putting a glug of olive oil into a saucepan and the dried oregano and gently warm to release the oregano flavours.
- Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and bring back to a simmer.
- While the tomatoes are simmering use a potato masher to mash the sauce to remove the lumps and make it smooth. Note, using a hand blender will turn the sauce a light pink and the deep redness disappears, so use the hand masher, it doesn't take long.
- Now, simmer the tomatoes until it reduces to a thick consistency. Once it's ready, take off the heat and let it cool a little. Adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper to taste.
- Now tear all the basil and place in the pan and stir. once the basil has wilted it's ready.
- Serve with your favourite pasta or let it cool and use on a pizza base.
Notes
(All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more).