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Batch 008

Beef broth
tomato sauce.

Pantry staple Grass-fed beef Batch 008
2 hours Grass-fed beef

A tomato sauce that uses beef broth as its starting point. We reduce a litre of broth down hard before anything else goes in, which lays down a quiet savoury base for the tomatoes to sit on. It keeps in the fridge for a week and freezes well.

A pan of rich red tomato sauce with fresh basil leaves
Tested by Sinead in our Lisbon kitchen.
Ingredients
  • 1L Grass-fed beef broth
  • 3 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 shallot or 1/2 small white onion, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed and finely diced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 handful fresh basil
  • Flaky sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Grated Parmesan, to serve
Method
  1. Pour the beef broth into a medium pot. Bring to a steady simmer and reduce by three-quarters, until you are left with about 250ml of glossy liquid. This carries most of the flavour.
  2. Add the olive oil and butter to the reduced broth.
  3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, shallot and garlic.
  4. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 1 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the sauce comes together and looks unmistakably like sauce.
  5. Tear in the basil at the end. Season with flaky salt and black pepper.
  6. Finish with grated Parmesan over pasta, eggs or bread.
More recipes

Keep cooking.

Recipe Herb and tomato braised beef stew 2 hours 30 minutes · Serves 4 · Grass-fed beef → Recipe Spring vegetable soup 30 minutes · Serves 4 · Grass-fed beef → Recipe Morning broth tonic 5 min · Serves 1 · Liquid Gold →
"Yield: about 1L of sauce. The longer the simmer, the deeper the flavour, but anything over an hour will be good."
— from the kitchen, on this recipe
Common questions

A few things people ask.

Beef is the right call. The whole point of the recipe is the depth that reduced beef broth lays down beneath the tomatoes; chicken broth is too light to do that work. If you only have chicken broth, use it for a different sauce, not this one.
Because what you're making is essentially a glace de viande, a glossy concentrate that carries the flavour of a litre of broth in 250ml. The tomatoes, shallots and garlic then build on that base. Skipping the reduction gives you a watery sauce.
A week in the fridge in a covered jar, with a thin layer of olive oil on top to seal it. The flavour rounds out by day two and stays good through day six or seven. We make a double batch on Sundays.
Very well, up to three months. We freeze it in 200ml portions, which is enough for a pasta for two. Defrost in the fridge overnight or thaw gently in a pan with a splash of water.
You can, though the sauce loses some of the brightness fresh heirlooms give. Use a good Italian brand, San Marzano if you can find them, and reduce the simmer time to 45 minutes since tinned tomatoes break down faster. Add a pinch of sugar if they taste sharp.
Yes, the sauce itself is gluten-free. Whatever you serve it on (pasta, bread) is up to you to manage. Our broth is gluten-free.

Cooked, tested and written by Sinead McInerney in our Lisbon kitchen. Last reviewed: April 2026.