Ingredients

No amounts listed as you can adjust for your own flavours. I have noted beside the ratio for a bit of a reference.

• Roma tomatoes (70%)
• Onions (16%)
• Peppers (7%)
• Celery (2%)
• Garlic (3%)
• Herbs & spices (2%)
• Olive oil & splash of dry red wine or balsamic vinegar for some added flavour

For the herbs, I used basil, tarragon, thyme, oregano & rosemary.

For the spices, I added annatto, paprika, salt & pepper.

Olive oil is just to drizzle over everything to ensure it doesn’t get burnt to the pan.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F
2. Rough chop everything and put into a large roasting pan.
3. Toss with olive oil. If adding dry red wine or balsamic vinegar, do so at this point.
4. Put roasting pan into oven and roast for 1 hour. Stir a few times to ensure that everything is cooking evenly.
5. Depending on what type of tomato you are using, you may need to continue roasting so that it is not a watery sauce. Romas are best because they are more meaty and have less seeds and moisture inside. If your sauce looks watery, continue roasting until there is still moisture, but not little pools of water.
6. Either put in a blender and pulse until the desired consistency, or use an immersion blender in the roasting pan.
7. Freeze for future use, or enjoy for dinner!

Chit Chat Bit

It is the season to get the freezer full of processed garden goodies. I used to can a lot of my tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce during the winter, but then I had to purchase all the other ingredients. So the last few years, I have been making big batches while the garden is producing and then freezing to use in the winter months.

This year I battled some blossom end rot on 2 of my tomato plants, so I needed to find a use for the tomatoes that didn’t require me to peel them. Romas luckily have a fairly thin skin and are good to roast for sauces. So that is what I did. Instead of doing my usual stove-top sauce recipe, I threw everything into a big roasting pan and then roasted it until everything was tender. Then I used my blender to puree it. It made for a great sauce that coats the spaghetti. I am going to do another batch where I use the immersion blender for a bit more chunky bits to the sauce and see how that goes.

Usually with my stove-top recipe, there is still quite a bit of liquid, so I end up having to add tomato paste to thicken it up. The roasted version ends up a nice consistency with none of it watery. Because of this, it is now my go-to for making. Plus it is way easier than my stove-top version which required me to peel the tomatoes still.

If making this recipe, you really don’t need to follow the ingredients exactly. I like a lot of onion in my sauce, so a lot of them go in. Same goes for garlic. If you prefer more tomato or herbs, then adjust as necessary. It’s one of the things I like about tomato sauce. You can really adjust it to your taste preference, and not have to worry about it going sideways on you.

I know people who add a little sugar to bring out more flavour. Personally, I don’t add it in because I add so many herbs, onions and garlic that it has a good burst of flavour without. But if you are finding that your sauce is falling a little flat, consider adding a bit of sugar. Start with a small amount and work up to what you feel is the right flavour.

I also throw a bunch of parmesan into my sauce when I am heating it up for dinner. Although we could add it after, I find adding it while the sauce is heating, allows the cheese to get into the entire sauce.