Pasta sauce - tomato based

[Baconyum]

Just curious to know what others do.

I do a very lazy one
Passata, garlic salt, basil, oregano, parsley knocked up while pasta cooking but it makes enough for 2 meals and I pop the leftovers in a jar in the fridge for next time and it tastes even better then.

Dd loves it (and she's fussy! She prefers it to the jar sauces or any of the recipes I've tried involving 'real' tomatoes - fresh or tinned)

But as I say I'm curious.

I do a similar one to you with crushed garlic instead of garlic salt and tons of fresh chili and a squeeze of lime juice.

I serve with prawns and linguine.

I do a Jamie Oliver idea which basically uses up all the rotting veg in the fridge.

Loads of onions and garlic, cooked very slowly, then butternut squash, carrots, red peppers and literally whatever else I have in the fridge (wilting salad bags, a few old green beans), whack in loads of chilli cook for an hour and whizz up to a smooth sauce. It's actually delicious and I had it yesterday with prawns and pasta with basil on top. V good. I also do it with meatballs and pasta, salmon and rice, whatever I have to hand.

Mine is a chopped onion and some crushed garlic softened in olive oil, with a tin of chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar, simmered for as long as possible.

If it lasts two meals I stir in some mascarpone to make it a creamy tomato sauce

My take on a puttanesca.
About 4 cloves of garlic, minced and cooked off in the oil from two tins of anchovies, throw the anchovies in and fry, squashing with the back of the wooden spoon so they disintegrate. Add two tins of chunky chopped tomatoes, a small jar of black olives, roughly chopped and a few grinds of chilli peppers. Simmer for 5 mins and stir through the cooked spaghetti.

Garlic chilli tomato paste, red wine tinned toms and thyme and oregano and leave it to reduce

So interesting all the different varieties. All similar in basis but with tweaks

Put the pasta on - Fry an onion, add some basil or parsley, add passata and half a stock cube and by the time the pasta is cooked, it is ready to mix together and eat. I've been making this basic pasta sauce for 20 years.

Jamie Oliver Jools pregnant pasta
Arribiata
Pasta con sarde
Greek squid spaghetti
Puttanesca

My university housemate used to do a tomato sauce with a tin of tuna stirred in at the end.

There's a nice Delia one with garlic, chili, sardines, capers, tinned tomatoes and basil.

Thanks OP and other posters for reminding me about things I haven't made for ages!

Easiest ever is a tin of good chopped tomatoes, pinch each of brown sugar and chili flakes, splash of balsamic vinegar and a huge handful of fresh basil. Simmer slowly for at least 30 minutes until desired thickness (it eventually ends up like chutney). Delicious with pretty much anything.

I often add olives, capers and roasted peppers then stir through pasta, top with mozzarella and breadcrumbs and grill.

Finely dice onion and fry with 4x cloves of crushed garlic or use a few teaspoons of the garlic in a jar and either Lardons or sliced bacon. When this has softened, I either add passata or chopped tomatoes (and sometimes red wine), I season well and also add chilli flakes quite a lot as we like it spicy. I then add any veg I find frozen or fresh and sometimes add some red lentils. I then cook the sauce for at least thirty minutes if not an hour and blitz it to make a smooth sauce.

If my DD is eating this I often take a couple of table spoons of the sauce I make and mix with more passata/chopped tomato and sometimes a little cheese to (so it is not as spicy).

I roast skinned fresh tomatoes/ diced shallots/minced garlic/diced courgette/diced peppers/basil/salt and pepper, tossed in loads of olive oil in the biggest roasting tray I have . Slung in the oven at 180-200 (I tend to do it when I have the oven on for something else!) . Takes about an hour. We have it for a meal, the rest bagged up into the freezer for future use.

Three old favourites:

Zingy: Garlic and chilli sweated in olive oil til soft, add tinned plum tomatoes, at last minute add loads of chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Earthy: Carrot, onion, yellow peppers and beetroot sofrito style, then add tinned plum tomatoes, simmer, grate a knob of ginger and squeeze it so the juice goes into the sauce, stir through baby spinach to wilt just before serving.

Creamy: Very very finely dice either shallots or mild red onion, soften in olive oil, add a tiny smidge of fresh chilli, add halved cherry tomatoes, just before serving stir through double cream/creme fraiche/marscapone and loads of fresh basil.

I cut 10/15 fresh Cirio tomatoes lengthwise and do them first face down then skin side down on a griddle pan. I sometimes add peppers, red onions, whatever's around. Not garlic, though. I add that later.

Salt, pepper, oregano and just a drizzle of olive oil. When they're roasted and slightly charred I whizz them up in a bowl with a stick blender and stir in a knob of butter. Add a little sugar or vinegar to adjust the acidity levels. This is my base for 8 servings and can be kept in the fridge for 3 days or frozen ( freezing intensifies herb flavours, remember!)

Then I can choose what to add. Fried smoky bacon, mushrooms, tuna, olives, speck, soft cheese like ricotta or just fresh basil. Heat both components together in the frying pan to mix the flavours and reduce the liquid a little then pour onto cooked pasta.

I do a very basic but very delish tom sauce with two tins of toms, blended. Salt, pepper, dried oregano, pinch of chill, tea spoon sugar, tablespoon balsamic vin and a big handful of fresh basil leave.

I do a tomato and roasted pepper sauce. Great with pasta but best served with steak!
soosie.wales/recipe-tomato-with-sweet-pepper-sauce/

I also have a basic Pomodoro Sauce which also has ideas for variations.
soosie.wales/recipes/recipe-pomodoro-sauce/