Ingredients :
- 2 x 400 gm tin of chopped tomatoes
- 400ml of Beef/Chicken or Vegetable Stock (personally prefer to use beef stock as it provides a richer taste for meatballs) If using Vegetable Stock I would suggest mixing in two teaspoons of Marmite or Vegemite.
- 1 tbl spoon olive oil
- knob of butter
- 2 Tablespoons of Tomato Purée
- 2 large chopped onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- half a teaspoon of dried basil, half a teaspoon of dried oregano
- teaspoon of granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- dash of ground black pepper
- 80gm finely grated parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) cheese or Vegetarian Hard Italian Style Cheese if you are Vegetarian
Method :
- Heat a large heavy based pan to a medium heat (with a lid) and add olive oil and butter
- Throw in your chopped onion, garlic and fry gently until the onions are translucent.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and stock, stir and bring to the boil.
- Add the sugar, salt and herbs.
- Add the tomato purée and stir well.
- Reduce to a low simmer, place the lid on and leave for 45 – 60 minutes checking to make sure it doesn’t stick.
- Stir and simmer without the lid off for a further 15 – 25 minutes or until the sauce has reduced slightly (about 30 – 40%).
- Add the grated cheese and stir well.
- At this point you can add beef meatballs (around 20 large or 40 small cooked) and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
- Serve with pasta.