Jamie Oliver does it again! This is the best tomato sauce I’ve ever made - and now I know the secret I haven’t seen from Giada - Balsamic vinegar and sugar. After I added these two ingredients, it was WOW!! I actually forgot to add the parm to the sauce, and I think it’s great without it, but if you’re a huge parmesan fan like me, you might want to add it, or sprinkle plenty on top. The recipe calls for plum tomatoes, but I had diced tomatoes - organic which I think helped because a lot of canned tomatoes that are already chopped can be bitter. So try to use plum tomatoes and smash them yourself in the sauce. This is an easy sauce you can make over and over, I count this better than Newman’s Own too. Here’s how it’s done:

Serves 4

1lb piece of ricotta cheese (I had a 15oz tub of it from TJ’s - I think it’s a bit different but still works)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 a dried chili, crumbled - I just used chili pepper flakes

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

knob of unsalted butter

2 14oz cans of good plum tomatoes

3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1lb pappardelle or fettuccine - whatever you want to use

handful of fresh basil, torn into pieces

2 handfuls of freshly grated parm cheese (optional in my opinion)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Rub the ricotta with the olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and chilli and place on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden and firm. In a pan, slowly fry the onion and garlic in the butter and a good drizzle of olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes until sweet and softened. Add the tomatoes, simmer gently for about 15 minutes, then mash the tomatoes with a spoon. Add the balsamic vinegar and the sugar and stir until you have a nice tomato sauce.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted boiling water (NEVER EVER put oil in your pasta water - it makes the pasta slick and it won’t hold the sauce) cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve a glassful of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Toss the pasta with the tomato sauce and add a little of the reserved water to loosen, if necessary. correct the seasoning carefully to taste, then working quickly, add most of the basil and parm cheese. Place in a warmed bowl, rip over some extra basil and crumble the baked ricotta over the pasta.

Tags: italian, Jamie Oliver, pasta, ricotta, tomato sauce, tomatoes