Urgent! Do I need to cook chopped tomatoes in tins for pasta sauce?

[Return2thebasic]

Sorry, it sounds such an idiot question! But when I tipped over the whole tin on cooked pasta ready to serve, I suddenly became not quite sure if I need to cook the sauce out from the tin!!! Help~~~

This is hilarious! They walk amongst us

It's a completely different story if you're cooking for a 3 yr old! What you did was absolutely fine for them!

I love hot tinned tomatoes poured over avocado on toast with loads of salt and pepper. It's delish - had it for my lunch today!

Keep it simple - less work keeps mummy nicer 😂🤗🙈

Yeah but so what? I LOVE and Indian takeaway and people go on about how people in India would scoff at what we 'think' is Indian food. I don't care if it's authentic, I still think it's delicious.

Also - you could stir in some frozen peas or frozen sweetcorn into the still hot pasta (or add to the boiling pasta and then pour off). And then add the tomatoes too. Extra vitamins and veg with little effort x

I loved tinned whole plum tomatoes on toast (heated gently first though!) sprinkled with celery salt. The simplest things can be the best

Ignore all of the nasty comments @Return2thebasic. Some people forget that they once upon a time didn’t know it all and had to ask questions. It’s how we learn.

You have already had some lovely tips on how to make a tomato sauce so I wont go there but I did pick up on you saying you can’t afford pesto anymore. You might want to look at Jack Monroe’s recipe for pesto that is made from leftover salad. I’ve tried it and it’s surprisingly good. She has other pesto recipes that basically use scraps from the fridge but the one I tried is on her Cooking on a Bootstrap page. Sorry, I can’t post the link but it is really easy to find. 😁

If you have any of the larger portion ice cube trays left over from weaning they are brilliant for freezing left over tomato sauce. You can then defrost a couple quickly in the microwave and add to a portion of cooked pasta/ use as a sauce for a chicken breast. One cube (so long as the sauce is quite thick) can be spread over a wrap or a pitta with some grated cheese and sweetcorn for a quick pizza.

I don't care if it's authentic, I still think it's delicious

Exactly. Italians do not own tomato sauce anyway, we do actually grow tomatoes here in the UK you know and in many other countries.

Bloody hell some people are rude. You have no idea what someone's life history is, and it's incredibly naive and short sighted to think that everybody has had the same experience with cooking as you have. Here is someone actively trying to improve their knowledge and practise making healthy meals for their family and you choose to beat them down? Why?

@Return2thebasic ignore the rude people, and you should never be afraid of ashamed to ask questions to learn something new, like you have done.

The ice cube tray is a great idea, we do that too so when you can't be bothered making a sauce then and there you can just defrost some premade. Also chuck in frozen veggies and cheese and you've got a really quick, balanced meal.

Op we have a cheap mini blender. It's amazing.
Think it's a chopper?
I've just made cubes to freeze to add to pastas
Chopped up so fine, mushroom/celery's/onions/tons of garlic/carrots a pepper/ added smoked paprika, turmeric, wosceter source, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste.

Check out the Feed Your Family for about £20 a week page.

They’ve got some great, simple recipes. Even meal plans with the full shopping list.

I wasn’t taught to cook as a child or teen either. It’s a good starting place because there’s no sneering like there is on here and when money allows you can make the recipes nicer or add add ins, but gives good basics.

Here you are OP
This is how is make my pasta sauce from tomato tin with a bit of simmering and adding herbs and garlic as tinned tomatoes are quite watery so red to reduce
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/howtoomakeaatomato_07153

Othe tips for quick pasta sauce

Buy pesto jar - stir in two spoonfuls to cooked pasta , tear up a couple ham slices into the pasta too after cooked - you can get sweet or spicy tomato pesto jar or a green pesto jar

Stir in ketchup! DCs love this or with a splash from bbq sauce bottle

Have plain pasta hot and put grated cheese on it, cheese will melt slightly

Buy pre prepared pasta sauce mozarella and tomato one is lush and is about £1 -£ 1.50

Oh also I Chuck in frozen sweetcorn when boiling the pasta or add in a drained ton of sweetcorn for last 5 mins of pasta cooking for vegetables sometimes

@Return2thebasic

For a cheap pasta sauce fry a finely chopped onion, finely chopped (as small as you can) carrot, finely chopped celery if you have some for a few minutes on a medium heat with oil, add chopped peppers/leeks/courgette/chopped bacon/mushrooms (in other words anything needing eating up in the fridge), add chopped garlic- cheapest option is frozen crushed garlic from world foods section you get loads for £1, mixed Italian herbs or oregano and a can of chopped tomatoes, cook five mins. You can freeze this sauce if you have leftovers. I grate Italian hard cheese over it.

We have it for tea today

Drained tin of sweetcorn I meant !

Ps you don't need to add those extras! Just use pasta as a way to reduce waste. I called it fridge pasta when my kids were young. We also have fridge omelettes.

This was five different ways of doing "pasta" sauce or topping, not altogether!!

Oh, it's for a BABY!!

Now I get it. I genuinely thought you were serving someone pasta with cold tinned tomatoes for a minute then.

Yes, that's perfectly fine for a little one.

Buy passata next time. It's the same price in Aldi in the little boxes. Add a few herbs.
The squeezy garlic in a tube is also useful if you want it to be quick (or a jar but that's more expensive)

If it's for your three year old then you could make a big batch and blend in hidden veg like carrots or cauliflower. Freeze it in little pots or even ice cube trays. Take a few out and microwave or defrost in pan once pasta is cooked

Are babies not people anymore?!

Yes they are people, @britneyisfree , but there is a difference between serving food to a toddler and dishing out a meal to adults.

I usually cook with garlic on a low heat for 1-2hrs 😂, then combine with pasta

@DuchessOfSausage not if we want to get them eating the same foods as us asap. This is where the problems start. Giving them shitty tasting foods and not helping develop a palette.

Although it can be taken too far. We gave DD2 a Balinese curry from one of those seasoning kits and now she won't stop asking for it 🙄

I fry onion, garlic and any old veg I have turning in the fridge then add the tomatoes, a teaspoon of sugar to get rid of the acid in the tomatoes and cook down for ages, add fresh basil and dried oregano and then parmesan cheese and cook some more then blitz the whole thing with a hand blender.

it makes the most delicious, tasty, adaptable sauce ever. I do double quantities and then freeze it.

never ever would I just add tinned tomatoes to pasta. Probably wouldn’t wean a Baby on my sauce though.

@britneyisfree , pasta and tomatoes are not shitty tasting.
A young child has better taste buds than adults.

It's one thing letting your child get a taste for food and another to feed them things like seasoning, which is likely to have a high level of salt.

It's palate, not palette. I'd check the level of salt on your balinese curry kit. Curries tend to be quite oily too.