Re: Sauces.
This is another pasta sauce recipe that I made up as I went along a while back. Even though I say so myself, it is bloody wonderful!
An average family pack of cherry tomatoes
A quarter to a half of red wine (I use Merlot because it works well I enjoy drinking what's left in the bottle) - the actual amount depends on your taste.
Onions/shallots, fine chopped
Stick of celery, fine chopped
Garlic, fine chopped
Chilli (fresh, finely chopped, or flakes, to your taste)
Tomato puree, as required for 'tomatoness'
Black olives, coarse chopped
Fresh basil, coarse shredded, loads but, I suppose, again according to taste
Salt & pepper
Slow sauté the onions, celery, chilli and, after a while, the garlic. While that is doing, zap the tomatoes in a food processor (or a hand blender, as I do) until they are well pulverised.
Add the tomatoes and wine to the cooked onions, etc, stir and heat over a lowish heat, tasting for seasoning. Be warned, before it cooks together, the flavour is pretty dire and the appearance is a bit odd as well!
When it all seems to be pretty well homogenised, add the basil and olives, cook a little longer , taste again for seasoning.
Use as you see fit.
N.B. Depending on the juiciness of the tomatoes, it might be necessary to add some stock.
Should you have to use ordinary tomatoes, which I have never tried, I would think it might be necessary to add some sugar - the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes neutralises the wine's relative bitterness, without that sweetness the sauce would be a bit unpleasant, I reckon.