Categories: Italian

Quick and easy Pasta Sauce Recipe

I have a very easy roasted tomato pasta sauce recipe which I love but today I am not sharing that. I saw this recipe for pasta sauce on one of Masterchef Australia’s episodes. The way Marco Pierre White talks about his go-to pasta sauce recipe in the Masterchef episode makes you want to stop everything and make that pasta sauce. I finally got to try the recipe and it did not disappoint at all.

Its a very basic, no frills recipe that uses a combination of fresh cherry tomatoes and canned tomatoes, which is what gives the red color to the pasta sauce.

Marco in the masterclass explains its difficult to get the red color in pasta sauce by just using fresh tomatoes and thats why his recipe calls for both- fresh and canned. The flavors for this sauce are simple but fresh and the dish does not require much active time in the kitchen to put together.

The best part of this recipe for me is that Marco recommends to grate the onions rather than chopping it; which means you avoid all the onion tears and make the process a little quicker. He mentions that by grating you remove the water from the onions. By removing the water you remove the acidity and just keep the flavor of onions.

He also mentions that the reason for using cherry tomatoes is because they are more intense with flavor and have higher pectin yielding a better sauce.

I followed Marco Pierre White’s recipe more or less except that I decreased the quantity. Of course you can make double the amount of sauce and just freeze leftovers. I also skipped Marco’s instructions to strain the cooked sauce. I felt it did not require it.

Quick and easy Pasta Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 3-4

Easy cherry tomato pasta sauce recipe

Ingredients

1 onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400 gms cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, reserve some for later
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 condensed chicken cubes
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
dried chilli flakes, to taste
a few fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
parmesan cheese, for serving
500 gm store bought pasta of your choice

Instructions

In a big saucepan, drizzle some olive oil and heat over medium heat.
Add the grated onions and garlic and cook until soft but not brown
Add cherry tomatoes, reserving some to use later and cook until soft and juices have released.
Add the crushed tomatoes, rinsing out the can with 1 cup water and add that to the pan.
Add the condensed chicken cube, thyme and bay leaf and allow to simmer gently on low flame until thickened and reduced, about 40 minutes. You can remove from heat and sieve if required. I did not sieve it.
Cook pasta according to instructions on packet, keeping the pasta a little underdone. Drain pasta and drizzle with olive oil.
Place a large fry pan over medium heat and drizzle olive oil.
Add the reserved cherry tomato halves and chilli flakes, to taste.
Saute briefly then add 2-3 cups tomato sauce, chopped basil and drained pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

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