your best tomatoey pasta sauce recipes please!

[kitbit]

Help! Every time I try and make a tomato-based sauce for pasta it tastes really bland. Has anyone got any tried and tested lovely sauce recipes they'd like to share? Thanks all!

I either make rataouille (onion, garlic, courgette, aubergine, red pepper, crushed chillis, dried basil and dried oregano), or mushroom sauce (onion, garlic, mushroom, dried basil and dried oregano). Either way, I used chopped tinned tomatoes, and leave them to simmer for as long as possible.

or if you're lazy like me, a cheat version that's not really a sauce as such is to take whole tomatoes, slice in half and place in a roasting dish with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (the same amounts of each - for two people normally about three dessert spoons each), chilli flakes/powder and some mixed herbs. Leave in fairly hot hour for 20 - 40 minutes depending on a) how busy you are b) how nicely caremalised you like your tomatoes. The simply pour over pasta with parmesan.

Fry chopped onion and finely chopped garlic (2-4 cloves) gently in generous glug of olive oil, season with black pepper and salt.

Add a tin of tomatoes, add half a teaspoon of sugar and cook gently for around 20 mins till thickened.

Add a handful of chopped fresh basil at the end.

If you like, you can also add a small sprinkle of dried chilli flakes.

Oh, my cheats version also works with a couple of whole gloves of garlic cloves thrown in.

Cook some garlic & onion in olive oil first & mix with the tomatp sauce

oooh these all sound lovely
I think I might try the cheaty oven version first, I have some largeish cherry plum tomatoes that this might work well with, and I love balsamic.
If anyone has any more though I'm all ears!!!

thanks everyone!

Ooh, the first person to actually say they're going to use one of my recipes. Whoo hoo, I have arrived!

a couple of cloves of garlic and 4 or 5 anchovy fillets lightly fried in a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. once the anchovies have disintegrated add a punnet of halved cherry tomatoes (or whatever fresh tomatoes you have) till they're soft. add torn basil leaves and black pepper. yum!

I also used tinned tomatoes, to add more flavour you can add about a tablespoon of tomato puree (I buy the tubes) and I second sugar, it breaks down the acidity of the tomatoes and if you want to indulge a blob of butter stirred through just before you serve.

these sound gorgeous too, I have loads of basil so might also try that one tomorrow!

Blinglovin!!

I also fry some onions and garlic in butter/olive oil. Add balsamic vinegar and reduce for about 30secs-1 min until that acidic smell goes. Tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and a few tbspns of sunblush tomatoes bought off the deli counter which I blend in a mixer at home. The sunblush tomatoes usually sweeten it up but you can add a little sugar to taste if you wish.
I usually add courgettes and mushrooms to it.

oh and herbs of course - basil at the end