Jemima’s Tomato Spaghetti
A Summer favourite, my daugther Jemima absolutely loves tomato pasta, so this recipe is dedciated to her. You won’t ever regret making your own pasta sauce, as the flavour will be ten times better than any out of a jar. You can also control salt and sugar levels. In this version I am using tinned cherry tomatoes, which I love and are a useful store-cupboard standby. In the Summer add a handful of seasonal fresh cherry tomatoes too, to soften with the tinned ones. It might be fun to add some yellow and other brightly coloured cherry tomatoes, if you can find them. Fresh garlic and basil is a must in this sauce too. I personally do think a homemade tomato sauce needs a pinch of sugar, to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes but this is optional. Taste the sauce at the end of cooking and see if you feel it just needs that sweetness to balance and round out the flavours.
Quantities here serve four people, but you could double the sauce quantities and freeze some, as this is incredibly useful to have for a standby supper. If you can cook once and eat twice then you are ahead of the game.
ingredients
recipe serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
400g (x1 tin) whole cherry tomatoes in their juice
small handful of fresh cherry tomatoes
50ml water
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
15-20g fresh basil
method
To make the sauce take a pan and add the olive oil and onions, saute gently for 10 minutes until completely soft and translucent. Next add the cherry tomatoes and their juices, with 50ml of water and the thinly sliced garlic. Simmer away on a low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes. The sauce should reduce and thicken. Take the sauce off the heat, taste and if you’d like to add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Scatter with thinly shredded basil leaves and season with a little black pepper.
to serve ~
For 4 people I would cook 200g-250g of dried spaghetti. Cook according to the packet instructions, or until al dente, based on your own preference. Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan of warm tomato sauce, toss the pasta in the sauce until the spaghetti is glossy and well coated in the sauce.
Serve in bowls, with a final scatter of fresh basil and a light grating of Parmesan cheese (optional).
