Editorial: Kockums JernverkPublished: 2026-11-06

Homemade tomato sauce

Name: Homemade tomato sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion; 3 garlic cloves; 2 tins whole plum tomatoes (400 g each); 100 ml water; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 handful fresh basil

Serves 4 · 45 minutes · Enamelled frying pan

A proper tomato sauce needs only onion, garlic, olive oil, good tinned tomatoes and half an hour of simmering. The enamel copes with the acidity, so the sauce can cook for as long as it needs.

Homemade tomato sauce is an Italian base sauce of onion and garlic softened in olive oil, then simmered with whole tinned tomatoes, a pinch of sugar and salt. It is best when the onion is given time to soften without browning and the sauce simmers uncovered until thick and glossy.

Thick, glossy tomato sauce being stirred with a wooden spoon in an enamelled frying pan on an induction hob

Ingredients

Serves 4

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 tins whole plum tomatoes (400 g each)
100 ml water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh basil

Method

Finely chop the onion and thinly slice the garlic.
Heat the oil in the pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion for 6–8 minutes until soft and glossy but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Tip in the tomatoes and crush them with a wooden spoon. Rinse out the tins with the water and add it. Stir in the sugar and salt.
Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer uncovered for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and glossy.
Season with salt and pepper and tear in the basil. For a smooth sauce, pour it into a bowl and blitz it with a stick blender rather than in the pan.
Use the sauce for pasta, as a pizza base or to finish meatballs in. It keeps for 4 days in the fridge.

Why it works

Enamel is non-porous and does not react with the acidity of tomatoes, so the sauce can simmer for a long time and even sit in the pan without picking up a metallic taste. The wide base also lets the liquid reduce faster than in a saucepan.