Ingredients:
12 ripe plum tomatoes, skinned and deeseeded
1 1/2 cups good quality olive oil
2 large sweet Spanish onions, peeled and finely diced
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Pimientón (Spanish sweet paprika, smoked)
1 tsp chilli powder (hot or whatever you prefer
1 bay leaf (laurel)
Method:
After skinning, scrape the seeds from the tomatoes into a sieve set over a bow (using a small spoon) cover and leave to “drip”. Blitz the tomatoes, add the juices from the seeds (I do this because the “water” is tasty, although it does prolong the cooking time)
Place a non stick pan over a medium to low flame, add the olive oil
Add the chopped onions,caster sugar and sea salt, fry slowly … stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula … until the onions become tender and turn a light golden brown – this should take around five minutes, then add the tomatoes and stir, bring up to heat
Add the pimentón, chilli powder and bay leaf
Reduce to heat to medium-low and cook for about 20 minutes, stir occasionaly to ensure the sauce does not stick or burn
When ready the tomatoes will break down, colour of the sauce will deepen and the sauce will split, ie the oil will separate from the tomatoes
Push through a sieve, bottle and cap, refrigate until ready to cook. It is best to prepare the sauce only a short time before use