Half a kilo of tomatoes now is a five-minute dinner in winter. What should you do with them in August?

The logic of preserving is simple: in August tomatoes are at their cheapest and most flavourful, while in February a shop-bought jarred sauce is mostly water, starch and sugar. The difference is immediate.

The recipe was shared by the culinary section of gazeta.pl.

What you will need

These proportions fill a few small jars. Choose fleshy tomatoes with thin skins — they make a thicker sauce.

• 500 g ripe tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• half a teaspoon of sugar
• salt and black pepper to taste

How to make it

1. Fry the finely chopped onion and garlic in olive oil.
2. Scald the tomatoes, peel them, chop and add to the onion.
3. Add the tomato paste, herbs, sugar, salt and pepper.
4. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes until the sauce thickens.
5. Pour the hot sauce into clean sterilised jars, leaving a little space at the top.
6. Seal the lids tightly and pasteurise the jars in a pot of boiling water for 15–20 minutes.
7. Cool and store in a dark, cool place.

The pinch of sugar is not for sweetness: it tempers the acidity of the tomatoes, especially if they are slightly underripe. The finished sauce is not only for spaghetti — it is a base for lasagne, bakes and pizza.