Glorious and humble basic Tomato Splodge

Tomato Splodge (TS) is probably one of the first things that I learnt to make, and make again, as a teenager.  It is a student staple on pasta, the start of so many different dishes and the backbone of many others. I have to admit that I tend to feel a bit jumpy if I don't have the basic ingredients for TS and a bag of pasta in the cupboards.

TS basics

At it's most basic level TS is made of Onion, Olive oil and a tin of tomatoes.  Some would argue that Garlic has to be added to the ingredient trinity as a basic too, I don't disagree that it is very important, but have had to make TS without garlic a few times simply because I have run out so I tend not to include it as a 'basic'.

The next level up of sophistication for TS includes the addition of garlic, and a spoon full or two of sugar.  Frankly I see these ingredients as being included in the basic level of TS - I'm not a student anymore so am far more likely to have sugar and fresh garlic in the house on a regular basis. Seasoning must be mentioned here too - add a little salt but not much as if the TS is going to be used for another dish you may want to add more salt then. 

some more complex TS ingredients

The final level of sophistication for TS ingredients can include adding red wine (my favourite addition), tomato puree, soy sauce, Worcester sauce, dried or fresh herbs, Anchovy sauce or paste, mushroom ketchup, Balsamic vinegar, stock, marmite (yes!), honey, paprika, chillies, Port and many other delicious things.

The trick is to chop the onions into equal sized pieces and to saute them in the Olive oil, long and slow until they are translucent.  This takes ages, perhaps 15-20 minutes or more and you should only add the chopped or grated/crushed garlic a little down the line in the process to ensure that it doesn't burn in the long cooking time.

Some people add salt to the onions so they don't burn, others add sugar to add sweetness at this point, and yet others add a tiny dash of water to again prevent burning.  I tend to do none of these things but just take it slow and watch over the pan.

Once the onions are translucent, you should add the tinned tomatoes and then 1-2 heaped teaspoons of sugar.  

All tinned tomatoes are not equal and as a commodity they have really gone up in price over the past few years.  I'm not sure if this reflects the increasing price of the tomatoes themselves or the metal in the can.  You can get cartons of 'tinned tomatoes' now but they are about the same price as tins.

You can buy chopped plum tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes in a tin and organic versions of both - the chopped ones are usually more expensive.  You also get different levels of richness of the tomato juice with the tomatoes.  This means that a tin of tomatoes can just be whole tomatoes or chunks in a very watery tomato juice - the less expensive kind - or in a rich almost passata like sauce - the more expensive kind.  You can also get passata, which is a runny sort of made tomato sauce, and tinned tomatoes with added herbs, onions or garlic.

If you are cooking long and slow and have some tomato puree to hand then I'd go with the cheaper version of tinned tomatoes as the sauce will reduce for you as you cook, and mostly this is what I do, but I must admit using tinned tomatoes with a rich red sauce does feel like it is going to make a nicer TS.  If you are going for the cheaper options try out the tinned tomatoes in the Indian food section of your supermarket as I have found them to be a bit cheaper (as are the tinned chickpeas).

Once you have added your tin(s) of tomatoes and other ingredients (if using) you then need to let the mixture cook down and bubble away for as long as you have got.  If that's only 10 minutes then whack up the heat a little and get on with it. Longer is better. Once as student, when a guest was very delayed for a meal, I cooked TS with additional vegetables in it -  intended for a pasta dish -  for 3 hours, adding additional liquid (red wine) occasionally. It tasted amazing when the guest finally turned up!

So once you have your finished TS the options are innumerable.

The most basic is to use it stirred through cooked pasta with some grated cheese on top and some garlic bread on the side.

You can add cream cheese (Philadelphia style rather than Dairylea style as preference) or cream to make a creamy tomato pasta sauce.

Add sauteed chopped vegetables - peppers, mushrooms, courgettes - for a veggie pasta sauce

Add tinned tuna and black and green olives for a fishy pasta sauce

Cook down a little drier to make the perfect sauce for a pizza base (see Bollywood Pizza recipe in earlier blog post).

Add to cooked minced beef to make a bolognaise style sauce for use on pasta or as part of lasagna

Add to chicken and pepper or chickpeas and spinach and with a little curry powder to make a curry

Add to rice with cashew nuts and vegetables for  a tomatoey cashew nut risotto

I could go on.  But I wont here.

Hooray for Tomato Splodge!

A basic Tomato Splodge Recipe



Chop 2 onions  fairly small, add to a saucepan with a good glug of Olive oil and cook gently for about 5 minutes, and then add some finely chopped or crushed Garlic (about 3 cloves) continue to cook until onions are transluscent - about another 10 minutes.

Then add to the onions 3 tins of tomatoes, 2 heaped teaspoons of sugar, a glug (glass or so) of red wine, a squeeze of tomato puree and half a teaspoon of marmite if you have any and stir around.  Cook on a medium to high heat for at least 10 minutes, but as preference for half an hour, letting the liquid bubble away and the tomtoes break down into the sauce, adding liquid if necessary and making sure the bottom does not burn.

Add the tomato splodge to what ever dish you are making it for or allow it to cool off and keep it in the fridge for tomorrow.