This is almost store cupboard friendly…. In fact you could say it’s empty fridge friendly! I always use this recipe as a base, as it can easily be adapted to suit your needs. Whenever I look in the fridge and see some sad looking tomatoes at the end of the week, I know I can lovingly transform them into a delicious sauce. An additional bonus is that cooking tomatoes in the presence of fats, EVOO in this case, actually helps increase the lycopene content and absorption. Lycopene is a type of plant phytochemical, which is beneficial to our bodies by having a positive effect on cardiovascular health as well as cancer prevention.
As I said, this is a very simple and basic sauce. You can easily perk it up depending on how you feel. Swap the water for wine for a deeper flavour, add those capers from the back of your fridge, or add some fresh herbs to save them from the bin! You can even spice things up with fresh or dried chilli.
For a Puttanesca sauce add chilli, capers, olives and anchovies. Add some cumin, turmeric and ground coriander as a base for a curry. Or make some baked beans by adding some paprika and a tin of cooked beans.
Once cooked, this sauce can happily sit in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can pop it in the freezer for a fast dinner when you’re in a rush.
I’ve used a red onion, but any onion you have to hand will be fine. Even if you only have spring onions, give it a go!
Serves 2
Recipe
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 250g fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 100ml water, option to use wine if you have any
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Cook the onions with the oil on a low temperature till soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes before adding the tomatoes and water.
- Simmer on a gentile heat for 15 minutes till the tomatoes burst and the sauce is reduced
- Serve as is chunky, or if you prefer a smooth sauce, blend
Per serving 110kcal/ 7.8g fat/ 1.2g saturated fat/ 8.5g carbohydrates/ 2.1g fibre/ 1.5g protein