Tomato and Basil Compote

Compote comes from the French verb compoter, which means to cook something gently until it breaks down and reduces into a babyfood-like purée. This recipe can be used as a sauce for meat, fish or even pasta dishes.It can also be used as a base for soups, curries and stews.

This is adapted from a recipe in the Telegraph (UK)

You will need a liquidiser, food processor or mouli légumes (food mill) to purée this sauce.
For each 2lb of tomatoes you will need 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

Roughly chop the tomatoes, put in a colander to let any excess watery juice drain away then put in a pan with 4 cloves of garlic, 4 sprigs of basil and the oil.

Add 1tbs of sugar and 1tsp of sea salt. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the compote is paler in colour (a sort of reddish orange).

Do not let the mixture burn or stick to the pan.

Allow to cool, then liquidise until smooth. Pour into jars, and store in the fridge – it will keep for at least 2 weeks – or freeze (not in a jar but in a suitable freezer container).