HOMEMADE TOMATO PASTA SAUCE

There's a glut of home grown tomatoes in my greenhouse currently and they needed using before they become to soft and squashy, so what better way than a homemade tomato pasta sauce. I was planning fresh pasta for supper tonight, so I'll ditch the usual jar of Italian tomato sauce in favour of my homemade variety. This is an easy recipe that tastes delicious and goes brilliantly with any pasta. Tonight I'm featuring 'penne'. Here goes:-

1. Cut small crosses in the bases of about 1Kg of ripe tomatoes, drop them into a pan of boiling water, leave for 30 seconds and then lift them out with a  slotted spoon. When they are cool enough, peel and roughly chop.
2. Heat a 'glug' of good olive oil in a pan (my neighbour, Guy, has recently returned from Crete with a sash of his own olive oil, and I'll use that!), and fry a small chopped onion with a  pinch of salt for 10 minutes until softened. Stir in 2 chopped garlic cloves, add the tomatoes, and then simmer for at least 30 minutes or until you have a rich and thick sauce consistency.
3. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add chopped fresh basil.  

There'll be enough sauce for a good pasta coating, but save some for another day by freezing it in an air tight container.