1 Large or 2 medium onions

1 or 2 peppers (optional)

2 tins of tomatoes or a kilo or more of fresh tomatoes if they’re overripe 

Oil to fry/salt/pepper/sugar/a herb like oregano or tarragon to flavour the sauce

4 garlic cloves chopped finely or 2 spoons of easy garlic 

50g of butter (optional)

Veg stock cube/pot

Water

You can leave the sauce chunky, in which case I’d cut the veg into smaller chunks but if you want it to be smooth then it doesn’t matter how you cut it and as you’re going to whizz it in a food processor or with a hand-held whizzer then you can also add extra veg (like carrots or courgette) in the sauce which will be hidden once you’ve processed it or I’d grate if you’re leaving it chunky. You start with the onion and peppers which you fry in a tablespoon or 2 of oil on a low/medium heat with a sprinkle of sugar and salt until they’re soft and all the liquid has gone from the pan, add any extra veg now and, again, cook slowly until all the liquid has gone. Add the garlic now and cook for 2 mins. Now add the tomatoes with the stock cube or stock pot and then add either a fresh or dried herb/s and pepper to flavour the sauce, simmer for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the butter now and mix until melted. It’s optional so you can leave it out but it does add an extra depth of flavour. You can now whizz it if you want it smooth or leave it as it is and this will freeze in little tubs to be pulled out and added to pasta/pizza/risotto whenever you need it and it’ll keep in the fridge for up to a week.