Really thick question - but what is passata?

[PanicPants]

Am I right in thinking it's tomato something or other?

sieved tomatoes

Sieved tomatoes, basically.

its sieved tomato sauce.

yep, pureed tomato in packet/jar, sometimes easier to use than tinned toms, depending on recipe

sieved, dahlink, sieved

It's for a annabel k recipe for tuna pasta, can I just bung in a can of tinned tommies then instead?

sure, but mash them up well with fork first and drain off excess "water"

Great, will do, Ive everything else in the house, and don't really want to go out just for 1 thing.

Thanks all, I shall remember to drop my new found language into general conversation this week to appear cultered and well educated!

Just FYI - to get the tinned tomatoes as close to the passata (which is a little richer in flavour and texture) you might need to add a bit of tomato puree - but don't panic if you don't have any as it's not essential - just adds a bit more flavour.