Classic pizza tomato sauce recipe

If you’re making the effort to bake your own pizzas then it’s really worth spending a little time cooking a lovely rich and herby tomato pizza sauce to spread over the dough too. This recipe makes a fairly chunky sauce, but for a smoother consistency use a hand held blender to whizz the cooled sauce. Choose plump and ripe on-the-vine tomatoes and a good quality olive oil for the best flavour. This recipe will cover 2 large pizzas, but any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or can be frozen for up to 1 month. Use to spread on other pizzas or add to other sauce-based dishes like chilli con carne or spaghetti Bolognese. It will take around 35 mins to prepare and cook this rich tomato sauce; 5 mins prep and 30 mins cooking time. Making the pizza sauce from scratch is much healthier than opting for a readymade jar - you'll know exactly what's going into it and you can control the salt content too.

Ingredients

• 2tbsp olive oil
• 4 ripe tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1tsp sugar
• 2tbsp tomato puree
• 1tsp dried Italian herbs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the garlic, fry gently for 3-4 mins then add the fresh tomatoes and fry for a further 5-6 mins.
2. Add the canned tomatoes, sugar, tomato puree and dried herbs and simmer gently for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Mash with a potato masher to break down any large chunks of tomato. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Leave to cool before using.