It’s time to top up the bottling as tomatoes are prime for making sauces and relishes. This dependable sauce pulls me through any day of the week!

Makes about 500-750ml

Ingredients

1.5-2kg ripe tomatoes

5 garlic cloves,

Few sprigs basil and thyme

2 Tbsp olive oil

Pinch of sugar (optional)

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Method

Preheat oven 180C

Wash the tomatoes briefly in cold water and pat dry.

Cut the large tomatoes in half and place all the tomatoes in a roasting dish, cut side up, sprinkle over the salt, pepper and sugar.

Drizzle over the oil and scatter over the herbs. If using your own tomatoes I like to push a small piece of the stalk into the sauce for extra flavour (optional).

Roast the tomatoes for at least an hour or until the tomatoes are completely pulpy, soft and giving of a rich tomato aroma.

Remove and allow to cool. When safe enough to handle spoon mixture into a sieve or pass through a mouli. The idea is to pass the flesh and juice and discard the seeds and skin. You will end up with a large bowl of tomato pulp. If you find your sauce is extra juicy put it into a pot and reduce over moderate heat until required consistency.

The sauce is now ready to use. It will last in the fridge for up to a week and freezers very well.