firstly , get yourself a massive pan with boiling water on the stove , this is for blanching the tomatoes if your not using tinned

prepare your fresh tomatoes by scoring the bottom in a cross shape and removing the eye where it would be connected to the plant , once completed get yourself a bowl fill it with ice and water.

add your prepeared tomatoes to the boiling water for exactly 14 seconds then lift them out and plunge them straight into the ice water. this causes the skins to come of or loosen , and makes it easier to peel.

get yourself another pan , adding the oil first heat it up till its moderately hot , grab your herbs and bruise them , and with the garlic chop the whole clove lengthways , once done place in the oil and allow flavours to mingle and intensify. once the herbs start to fry add in the tomatoes ( seeds and all apart fro. the skins )

let that mixture to simmer away , don't be afraid about the oil , it allows the tomatoes to almost confit and make them sweeter. grab another small pan adding your chosen vinegar and the sugar , reduce this by half and add it to the tomatoes. this helps the flavours level.off and gives everything a chance to be tasted ( this technique is brilliant for tomatoe based dishes , the sugar and vinegar reduction is called a gastric )

now leave the mixture and do not stir , you should only have to stir it twice , leave for 40 mins on a low heat barely simmering , this helps the oil work its magic and it starts to sweeten at the bottom of the pan too

once it has been sat there for 40 mins , season to taste , and this sauce is done , idealy this could be portioned and frozen , or can be kept in the fridge for a week. this sauce is ideal for pasta or for a base sauce for a pork or beef casserole :) I hope you enjoy :)

this will easily serve 4 - 6 people , preperation time is 10 mins and cooking 40 - 45 depending on the balance of seasoning to the idividual :)