Frugal and useful tomato sauce: recipe

Not tomato sauce as in ketchup on your chips, but tomato sauce as in bung it on pasta sauce.  Last night I sautéed a very little bit of onion and two chopped mushrooms (value ones, of course!!!) in a little bit of butter, added the sauce (which I've frozen in single portions) and some chopped chicken from the Sunday roast plus a little bit of balsamic vinegar, cooked 50g of pasta  mixed the two and added 10g grated cheddar (6p per 10g) and it made the most scrummy dinner!  As I liked it, I'm sharing.

Here's the tomato sauce recipe, both for Thermione and done the normal way.  I wanted a fairly smooth sauce but you could leave the veg more chunky if you wished.

Frugal tomato sauce (for all sorts of things – stir fries, pasta, etc)

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/fresh-tomato-soup-with-basil.html

Ingredients to make 8 single portions (18.5p as of middle of May 2013)

half a large onion

1 red pepper

a rib of celery

three or four mushrooms

a squidge of chilli puree and garlic puree (to taste)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 value can chopped tomatoes

1/4 can water

1 heaped tsp stock paste

half tsp sugar

t tsp dried herbs (I used mixed)

a grinding of black pepper

half a tube of tomato puree

a shaking of balsamic vinegar

Method for Thermione

half a large onion

1 red pepper

a rib of celery

three or four mushrooms

Prepare and cut into chunks.  Throw into the bowl and chop briefly on speed 6 until in very small bits’

1 tbsp olive oil

Add the olive oil and sauté on 100, speed 2, 5 mins

1 value can chopped tomatoes

1/4 can water

1 heaped tsp stock paste

half tsp sugar

t tsp dried herbs (I used mixed)

a grinding of black pepper

Add these ingredients to the pan.  Cook at 100, 15 mins, speed 2.

Check seasonings and adjust to taste if necessary.  If it seems very slack, cook again for two or three minutes with the measuring cup squiffy, so the steam can escape but the sauce won't splatter out.

half a tube of tomato puree

a shaking of balsamic vinegar

Add these and cook for another 2 mins, 100,  speed 2

Puree at 9 for about one minute.

 Freeze in single serving pots.

Normal done-in-a-saucepan method.

Peel and finely chop the vegetables and sauté with the olive oil in a pan until vegetables are softening.  Add the chilli and garlic purees and sauté for another two minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes, water, stock paste, sugar, herbs and black pepper.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomato puree, and balsamic vinegar and simmer for another few minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Zizz to the texture you want.

Freeze in single serving pots