Roasted Roma and Cherry Tomato Sauce
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It's mid-September and like so many of you, I'm just up to my eyeballs in tomatoes from the garden. They're coming at me faster than I can keep up, and I'm determined to keep up! So mostly what I'm doing is making my favorite sauce and freezing it and hoping that sometime in the next year I'll want to make scads of things calling for marinara or tomato sauce. This one is absolutely perfect for pizza (we'll be talking about that really soon!).
The original recipe (I can't remember where I found it) calls for only cherry tomatoes, but I'm making this with every tomato that comes my way...it doesn't disappoint. So here's what to do if you have more tomatoes than you know what to do with....
Gather together some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, shallots, garlic, salt and pepper.
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2.Roughly chop your tomatoes to about the same size.
3. Spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle them with a little olive oil. There are no measurements...just use your best judgment here. It's almost impossible to mess this up. Now drizzle it all with some balsamic vinegar..a little less than the olive oil you used. Slice up some shallots and some garlic and sprinkle over the top and then season well with salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix it up really good. Now it's ready for the oven...
Bake the whole thing for about a half hour or until the edges of the tomatoes start to turn dark.
Now just throw it all in the blender...
Taste for salt and then place in tupperware or glass containers and stick in the fridge or freezer.
This will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. I bet it would last longer, but I've never been able to test that theory... we use it up about as fast as I can make it.
Have fun with this, people. Add your favorite herbs and/or seasonings, simmer some Italian sausages in it... you're only limited by your imagination with this one. Here's the recipe...
Roasted Roma and Cherry Tomato Sauce
Note: The ingredient list mentioned in the blog post included balsamic vinegar, which was part of the original recipe. I've made this sauce many times now and decided that the balsamic vinegar added an off flavor to the sauce and have subsequently left it out. Add it in, if you'd like, but I don't think it really needs it. There are no measurements in this recipe, just use your best judgment here. It's almost impossible to mess this up.
Gather together some olive oil, shallots (or onion), garlic, herbs (like fresh thyme, basil and oregano), salt and pepper.
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place your cherry tomatoes in a single layer on a large, rimed baking sheet. Cut the roma tomatoes into chunks about the same size as the cherry tomatoes.
3. Slice up some shallots or onion and some garlic and sprinkle over the top. Add some sprigs or thyme and/or fresh oregano (add the basil later) and a good sprinkling of crushed red pepper if you like a little spice. Season well with salt and pepper and then drizzle with about 1/4 cup of olive oi. Use your hands to mix it up really good. Now it's ready for the oven.
Bake the whole thing for about 30-45 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to turn dark.
Now just throw it all in the blender and taste for salt (may need to add a little more). Stir in a good amount of chopped fresh basil and then place in tupperware containers. This will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. I've been known to use it a year later with no ill effects.
This sauce works well with any recipe calling for marinara...you can add more herbs to it after thawing, or just use as is. It's dee-lish!
