Roasted Tomato Sauce

The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is in full swing. I harvested a huge bounty of Big Beef, Better Boy, Yellow Pear, and red Cherry tomatoes yesterday.

I didn't want to make tomatoes sauce on the stove again, and since we are expecting cooler temperatures today, I decided to use my oven! That's a bold move since I don't have an A/C vent in there and the kitchen heats up quickly. This better be worth it. From the aroma coming from my kitchen I think it will be.

I washed, cored and quartered the large tomatoes and left the cherry tomatoes whole. I cut up a medium sweet yellow onion and minced eight cloves of garlic. I tossed it all on baking sheets with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

The vegetables were roasted in a 425 degree oven for about an hour.

The tomatoes were cooked until most of the liquid reabsorbed.

I then placed them under the broiler for a few minutes to get a little char on them.

I allowed the tomatoes to cool briefly then placed them in a food processor.

I had to work fast to avoid eating them with a spoon!

I pulsed three times then removed some of the chunky sauce to use in my Shakshuka recipe.

You can use this sauce chunky or continue pulsing until smoother.  It is now ready to use however your heart desires! This smooth batch will be used in a red sauce for pasta, maybe tomorrow. If not, it can be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen until ready to use.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2-3 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes
• ▢ 1 medium sweet onion (chopped)
• ▢ 8-10 cloves garlic (chopped)
• ▢ 3 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ 1 tsp kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash, core, and quarter the whole tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes can be halved or left whole. Place the tomatoes in a single layer on two baking sheets. Chop a medium to large sweet yellow onion and place on baking sheet along with the chopped garlic. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables and toss with your hands to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Don't overdo it because you'll probably be seasoning it again when you use it.
• Place the baking sheets in the oven and roast until the juice flows from the tomatoes and begins to evaporate. Place the baking sheets under the broiler until the tops of a few tomatoes begin to char. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Use a large spoon to transfer the tomatoes into the bowl of a food processor. You might have to do this in two batches. Pulse three or four times or until the sauce is the desired consistency. Pour the sauce into a bowl and refrigerate if using in the next day or two. Transfer to freezer bags and freeze until ready to use. This sauce can be used as you would a canned tomato sauce for soups, stews, and pasta sauce.