Naturally, if the tomatoes you use come from your own plants, even if you mess it up, this sauce will automatically be the ‘best ever’. But rest assured, it’s practically impossible to get it wrong! That said, fresh herbs are of great importance here, no dried-up flakes from old bottles, please.

For 2 or 3
10 minutes preparation
40 minutes cooking

8 – 10 nicely ripe medium to large tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
2 shallots, peeled, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons good tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
Fresh herbs : thyme, rosemary, sage and bay
Salt and pepper

Boil a pan of water and let the tomatoes simmer in it a couple of minutes in order to peel them easily.

Sweat the garlic and shallot in the olive oil. Add the tomato paste, stir and cook for a couple of minutes on low heat.

Cut the peeled tomatoes into smallish chunks, about 2cm, over the pan, catching all their juice. Pop in the fresh herbs, season with a little salt and pepper and bring to a low simmer, stirring from time to time.

Leave to cook very gently for 30 minutes or so with the lid on the pan, stirring from time to time, checking there is enough juice and adding a splash of water if not.

Remove the herbs, season again with salt, pepper and the teaspoon of sugar and serve or store in the fridge until you need it.