Jamie Oliver's Simple Tomato Sauce

This recipe is taken from Jamie's Dinners, and makes a lovely base tomato sauce. It's very easy, and useful to rustle up in batches - I panic a bit if I haven't got at least one portion in the freezer. You can use it for pasta sauces and bakes, and a concentrated version would probably make a tasty pizza topping - in his book, Jamie shares plenty of tasty-sounding suggestions. It's surprising how just a few simple ingredients can transform a bog standard tin of tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1 whole red chilli, pierced with a skewer or sharp knife, so that it doesn't explode when cooking
• 2 x 400g tins of peeled plum tomatoes
• A pinch of dried oregano (or Italian mixed herbs)
• Olive oil for frying
• Tiny amount (1/2 tsp) red wine vinegar
• Salt and ground black pepper to season

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil gently in a pan and allow the chopped garlic, oregano and chilli to cook slowly and infuse the oil for a minute or so - don't let the garlic burn
• Add the tins of plum tomatoes, and leave whole. Lightly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and allow to simmer gently for 30 minutes
• Remove the chilli, and mush the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. Check and correct the seasoning, then add a tiny amount of red wine vinegar, to give the sauce a little sharpness. For a sweeter taste, substitute the red wine vinegar with balsamic vinegar