When summer tomatoes reach their sweetest point, one of the easiest ways to preserve that flavour is to turn them into a slow-cooked sauce and freeze it in batches. This version needs only five main ingredients — garlic, cherry tomatoes, a little sugar, dried ancho chile and fresh basil, plus olive oil and salt.

The preparation takes about 10 minutes, while the rest is mostly gentle simmering. The result is slightly sweet, smoky and deeply tomato-rich, making it useful far beyond a simple bowl of pasta.

What You Need

Cherry tomatoes

Garlic

Dried ancho chile

Fresh basil

A small amount of sugar

Olive oil

Salt

If ancho chile is difficult to find, a small amount of sweet smoked paprika works well. Other mild dried chiles can also be used, although each will change the flavour slightly.

Start With Garlic

Warm a generous splash of olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Thinly slice the garlic and add it to the pan. Let it gently sizzle for about 1 minute. You want the garlic fragrant and softened rather than deeply browned, which could make the finished sauce bitter.

Add the Tomatoes

Halve the cherry tomatoes and carefully add them to the pan. For a standard batch, use a little over 450 g of tomatoes.

Add a small pinch of sugar, a little salt and a torn dried ancho chile. Pour in a splash of water to help the tomatoes soften and release their juices. Once everything begins bubbling, reduce the heat.

Cook Slowly

Leave the sauce to simmer gently for around 1 hour.

Stir occasionally and watch the consistency. The tomatoes will gradually collapse into a thick, glossy sauce while the chile adds a subtle smoky depth rather than aggressive heat. If the mixture begins sticking or looks too dry before the tomatoes have fully softened, add another small splash of water. There is no need to blend it. Part of the appeal is the slightly rustic texture created by the softened cherry tomatoes.

Finish With Fresh Basil

Remove the pan from the heat. Add a generous handful of fresh basil and fold it through the hot sauce.

Adding the herbs at the end keeps their flavour brighter and creates a fresh contrast to the slow-cooked tomatoes. At this point, the sauce is ready to use immediately. Toss it through fettuccine or another favourite pasta and finish with freshly grated Parmesan if you like.

Make a Bigger Batch

The real advantage of this recipe is how easy it is to scale.

One batch is enough for roughly 450 g of pasta, so doubling, tripling or even quadrupling the ingredients can stock the freezer with several future dinners without dramatically increasing the amount of work.

How to Freeze It

Let the finished sauce cool completely. Divide it between freezer-safe bags or containers according to the amount you normally use for one meal. If using bags, press out excess air and freeze them flat. Once frozen, the portions can be stacked neatly and take up very little freezer space.

For the easiest option, transfer a portion to the refrigerator the night before you need it. Forgot to defrost it? Put the frozen sauce directly into a saucepan with a splash of water. Cover and warm gently over low heat. Once it starts to soften, stir occasionally. It should return to a smooth sauce in around 15 minutes.

Summer Flavour for Later

The best reason to make this sauce in summer is simple: ripe seasonal tomatoes provide a sweetness and depth that are difficult to recreate during colder months.

Preparing several batches while tomatoes are abundant also turns a little effort now into a collection of very easy dinners later.