The simplest pasta sauce you’ll ever make. Tasty, beautiful, healthy and, best of all; simple to warm up after a long morning driving before anyone gets hangry!
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This is such a basic recipe, I kind of feel stupid for adding it but it makes me feel so good having it in my camper at all times. It can be used for a multitude of things, pasta, pizza, dip, casseroles, a base for soup and if you freeze it it will make a great ice block for your cool box if you don’t have a fridge. It is one of my fail safe back ups and I always make enough so I can freeze some AND have it on hand in the fridge.
I ALWAYS buy tomatoes, I think I have a thing for red vegetables I just can’t leave them alone! Even radishes and red peppers, and I detest the taste of them raw but they are so damn pretty in my bowl on the side and they just brighten up my day….and fit beautifully with my camper colour scheme!
Obviously tomatoes should never be stored in the fridge as that makes them go all powdery and gross, and anyway, why would you want to hide them, they are gorgeous to look at. However, this generally means that they don’t last long which is fine for me as roasted is my favourite way to eat them.
Recipe
A bunch of tomatoes, big, small, red, yellow, orange, all are welcome. You need minimum 3 normal sized toms or a punnet of cherry or plum toms to make enough sauce.
A handful of fresh basil.
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions
1. If cooking at home before hitting the road – To roast your tomatoes place them whole on an oven tray on a piece of tin foil. Turn up the edges of the foil and scrunch the corners together so that they don’t roll away and you don’t loose any of that amazing oil or juice while they cook.
2. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle generously with S&P and cook on 300F / 150C for around and hour for large vine tomatoes, 30-40 minutes for cherry toms. The best bet is to just keep checking on them. You want their skins to be starting to darken, even blacken a little in places for flavour.
1. If making on the move – You can roast cherry tomatoes on a gas BBQ
2. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle generously with S&P and cook on the side of your BBQ while you cook something else, always double up if you can, saves fuel. Keep tossing the tray so that they don’t just cook on one side and let them blacken a little.
3. Both at home AND on the move – Allow the toms to cool and if you have a fussy husband like me, slip off the skins and pull out any ‘eyes’ if they feel hard. A messy job but quite therapeutic in a way. If you’re using a blender there is no need to remove the skins as they will be chopped up so small you wont notice them.
4. Add the oil and juices from the tin foil to the bowl of toms (if there are any caramelised bits of tomato stuck on the foil make sure no one is looking and lick it off the foil…you can thank me later) and mash it all in, making a chunky salsa looking sauce.
*If I have made a triple batch, which I normally do, I bag it up at this point, before adding any herbs so that I can use it for anything without worrying about whether a basil flavour will destroy my current recipe.*
Rip in some basil leaves and season to taste. If your tomatoes were a little bland you can always add a tbsp of tomato puree to bring it around. If you have a blender you can whizz it all including the basil leaves and have a smooth sauce, your call.
Thats it.
Boil up your pasta and stir it in once pasta is drained, shave some good parmesan on top and throw in a basil leaf or two if you’re feeling fancy.
Or, put that ruby red sauce in the fridge for a rainy day / a pizza day/ a chicken casserole day/ a chips and dip day, it will last 5 days in an airtight container but I’m sure it wont take you that long to think of a use for it.
Great additions to the sauce are chili’s, roasted peppers or a touch of cream if you fancy it.
Drink a Rioja, a Merlot or a red blend with this, or if you’re feeling fresh an ice cold Italian Pinot Grigio.
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Tell me how you coped in your tiny campervan kitchen? What went right? what went wrong? Share the good, the bad and the ugly and help me improve the recipes, improve the step by step directions and bulk up the hints and tips for great cooking in a campervan.
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So, get cooking! Xx
