Easy Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• 700 g tomato sauce
• 6 tbsp tomato concentrate
• 0.5 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tbsp thyme or rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp oregano, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp basil, finely chopped

Method

Sweat the onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until they're completely softened and translucent, roughly 8-10 minutes. This is the foundation of aromatic-vegetables work — you're not browning them, you're coaxing out their sweetness and mellowing their raw bite. The alliums break down and dissolve into the oil, becoming the flavour backbone of the sauce. Once they've lost their structure and begun to collapse, add the tomato sauce and tomato concentrate in one go. Stir well to combine.

Add the sugar, salt, and pepper. The sugar isn't there to make this sweet — it's a minor correction tool. Tomato acidity varies wildly depending on the tin or carton; the sugar masks any harsh or metallic notes without announcing itself. Salt should be tasted and adjusted as you go; 1 tablespoon is a guideline for 700 g tinned sauce, but concentration matters. Tinned tomatoes are often over-salted already, so go cautious.

Now simmering is your control mechanism. Drop the heat low enough that you see occasional bubbles breaking the surface rather than a rolling boil — around 80-90°C if you're watching with a thermometer, but the visual cue matters more. This gentle, prolonged cooking does two things: it allows the water in the tomatoes to evaporate slowly, concentrating flavour and thickening the sauce to coat the back of a spoon, and it gives time for herb-infusion to happen properly. Add the thyme or rosemary now; their woody structure survives prolonged heat. Simmer for 45 minutes.

In the final 5 minutes, tear in the basil and oregano. These delicate herbs lose their character if they cook too long, so they go in late. The basil should smell bright and alive when you ladle the sauce onto dough, not dull and stewed. If the sauce feels too thin after 45 minutes — it should coat a wooden spoon — keep simmering another 10-15 minutes uncovered. If it's tight and jammy, you've gone too far; it'll tighten further as it cools.

Cool completely before using. A hot sauce will soften your dough base.