Tomato sauce is the foundation of many recipes and even fancier sauces, but if you want to make your own at home, there’s a way to make it even more flavorful. Chefs Jack Croft and William Murray, who have worked at some of London’s best restaurants, including Fallow, Roe and FOWL, revealed how they’ve perfected a homemade tomato sauce.
In a recent TikTok video, Will shared the four different sauces you can make from a simple “Sauce Tomat”. These included arrabiata, vodka, provencale, and romesco. Alongside this, Will shared his secrets for creating the perfect “mother sauce”.
The secret ingredient? Copious amounts of olive oil.
First, in a large saucepan, add a liberal amount of “good quality” Greek olive oil. Will said: “My rule when making a tomato sauce is always use about double the amount of olive oil you think you need. It’s going to add a richness to the sauce.”
Next add finely chopped onions, frying, but avoiding getting any colour on the onions. Sweat the onions down until they are soft.
Add a salt and a small amount of chopped garlic, continuing to sweat the ingredients down. Once the garlic is also soft, add a tin of tomatoes.
Follow with a “hit” of black pepper and even more olive oil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for around 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, add a tablespoon of sugar. After another ten minutes of cooking, add another pinch of salt and pepper.
Turn the heat off. An optional ingredient to add is a bunch of fresh basil leaves, tied together and allowed to rest as the sauce cools down.
This sauce can be used for a variety of dishes, or you can use it to make some of the sauces Will demonstrated in the video.