Gluten Free Cooking 101

One staple that I always have on hand in the fridge is a homemade tomato sauce.  I do find that many meals I make are based on a tomato sauce.  My mother always says that this is one of the simplest things to cook and can be used as a basis for many dishes.

By pre-making this sauce and keeping it in either the fridge or freezer, you can cut your dinner preparation time right down whether it be for a quick pasta or one pot wonder of chicken and veg in the oven.  This sauce is very versatile and I hope that you find many uses for it yourself.

My Basic Gluten Free Tomato Sauce

1 medium onion
a glug of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbs verjuice
3 x 400g tins of diced Italian tomatoes
half a 400g tin of water - used to rinse out the tomato tin
a large sprig of fresh basil, preferably sweet basil or a pinch of dried basil
a small sprig of fresh oregano or a large pinch of dried oregano 
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs white vinegar
2 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil and sauté the diced onion until transparent.  It is at this point that I add the herbs and salt to quickly heat them.  Add the verjuice to the pan and let it evaporate a little.

Add the tomatoes and stir through the onions, verjuice and herbs.  At this point, add the half tin of water,  I rinse the tins out so that no bits of tomato are wasted.  

Let this cook at a low simmer for about 35-40 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated, so that the sauce is at a nice thick consistency.  

Add the extra virgin olive oil and the vinegar and taste checking for a balance between the oil and the vinegar - you don't want too much of one or the other.  Also add salt and pepper as needed as well. 

If you have used fresh herbs, fish the stems of the basil and the oregano out of the sauce before bottling in a clean jar, covering the sauce with a layer of extra virgin olive oil.  This can keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks or freeze and defrost and use as required.

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia