for Pasta, Pizza, Bolognese, for soups, make dips – endless!! Double or treble and freeze in small batches for convenience.
1-2 tablespoons of good oil (I use Mrs Middletons Rapeseed Oil but Olive oil is fine)
1 small onion finely diced
1 clove garlic finely diced or grated or minced
1 tin of tomatoes
Herbs, choose option:
a) Fresh oregano, basil or majoram (about a heaped tablespoon when chopped)
b) Fresh Rosemary few sprigs – you will need to remove at the end of cooking
c) Dried heaped teaspoon of italian herb seasoning or oregano
1 Bay Leaf (will need removing at the end
Medium carrot, peeled and grated
Small glass of red wine
Dash of Worcester sauce (leave out if Vegetarian)
Small tin of anchovies, chopped (leave out if Vegetarian)
A few chopped black olives (optional)
A small pinch of chilli flakes (optional – it’s not supposed to give too much heat)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Heat the oil, gently fry the onion for a couple of mins and then add the garlic and carrots and continue to cook for a further minute – add the wine, let it heat up and boil for 30 seconds then add everything else, give a good stir and leave at a very gentle simmer for at least an hour, 2 is better. It is not supposed to dry out, but as it cooks, it will reduce and get thicker. You could even just bung everything in the slow cooker and do a big batch and leave it for several hours. think long and slow, just like my bread fermentation. Take out the stalks/bay leaf out at the end and then blend with a stick blender or food processor. Or not, if you prefer.