Slow-cooked tomato sauce

The River Café has been a household name in London’s restaurant scene for thirty years, and for their anniversary they have released a brand-new cookbook, River Cafe 30. Just like in their earlier books, you can expect recipes with few ingredients, zero fuss and lots of flavour. This tomato sauce is the perfect example.

All you need is canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil and a little time. First, you cook the onions very slowly, and then the sauce needs to simmer for another hour and a half. This makes the flavour better and better. Your pasta will never be the same again.

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and cook them over low heat until they are very soft. This takes at least 40 minutes – eventually, the onions should disappear into the tomato sauce. Add the garlic about 5 minutes before that happens.

Add the tomatoes and stir to break them up a little. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Cook the tomatoes for at least 1½ hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally. When the sauce is ready, it is dark red and very thick. All the liquid has evaporated and the oil has risen to the surface. Serve the sauce hot.

Title: River Cafe 30
Author: Ruth Rogers
Publisher: Kosmos Uitgevers
Price: €29,99