Homemade Tomato Sauce (Cheap & Good!)

I found this on chubbyhubby.net and it is amazing.  Much much easier than what I used to use with onions, garlic and all.

Pantry Basics: Homemade Tomato Sauce

They adapted the recipe from Jaime Oliver.

Homemade Tomato Sauce
Adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.

Makes about 600ml of sauce

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbs olive oil
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (I like using a chilli padi) or small dried chilli, crumbled (adjust to taste)
1 tbs fresh oregano, chopped or 2 tsp dried oregano
2 X 400g tins of Italian plum tomatoes (cherry tomatoes are also nice)
1 tbs red wine vinegar (I like the one from Hediard)
1 handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Fry the garlic with the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan placed over medium-high heat. (A cast iron lined with enamel is ideal; aluminum will react with the tomatoes, leading to bitter flavours developing.) Once the garlic starts to release its aroma, add the chilli, oregano and tomatoes. Stir gently without breaking up the tomatoes. According to Jamie Oliver, this prevents the pips from causing the sauce to taste slightly bitter. Bring to the boil and simmer for about an hour. Add the vinegar, then stir and chop up the tomatoes in the sauce. I continue to simmer the sauce until it achieves the thick consistency that covers the back of a wooden spoon, which I prefer. Add the fresh basil, season to taste and add extra virgin olive oil. Keeps refrigerated for up to 1 week. Stores in the freezer for a couple of months.

G:  I keep the sauce in small portions so that I just thaw what I need from the freezer.  I find the glass birds nest bottles very good for this purpose.

$$ saving tip:  Buy the Cirio canned tomatoes (plum, not chopped) from NTUC.   CS sells for a lot more!