Roasted Tomato Sauce

 FINALLY. I have been waiting all summer for a surplus of tomatoes. What would most people do with a flat of tomatoes in the dead of summer? They'd probably make BLTs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until the tomatoes are gone. Me? Definitely not. I cannot stand the smell, the texture, and especially the taste of a raw tomato. So when given two dozen tomatoes when it's hot as blue blazes outside, what do I do? I decide to sit around in a hot kitchen while they roast and then stand around a hot stove and watch them simmer. It takes nearly all day/night, but you can't put a price tag on the end result. You will think twice before sharing it with anyone!

I love tomato products...just not the tomatoes themselves. As a kid, I ate ketchup on many, many things--baked and fried chicken legs, collard greens, and canned green beans (oh yeah) were just a few of my favorites. Now, I don't think I could stomach that. When I order pizza, I need a little bowl of sauce in which I dip each bite. And spaghetti is more like soup, because the noodles are swimming. Salsa is a trickier topic, because sometimes it still has that raw tomato taste, but I have found a few I like.

Last year, I used roma tomatoes--read: a lot more work, because they are so small. This year, my second cousin shared her beefsteak tomatoes with me after a family vacation at her place. She has a huge garden--jalapenos, watermelon, corn, other peppers, cantaloupe, basil, rosemary, etc--and the same sentiments about tomatoes as I do.

On a side note, they live west of Williamsburg near the Chicahominy River and have a breathtaking piece of property. Half of the 400 acres is a huge pond/lake that used to be a quarry. We took the seadoo out, skiied, floated with Coronas in hand, and the guys went jug fishing. There were trails throughout that led mainly to deer stands, but they provided perfect running trails. There was so much to do on the property itself that it was like family camp! You never needed to leave. The only reason we left was to go bike riding on the trail that connects Williamsburg and Jamestown and to go out on the river. Oh, and did I mention I stayed in the cabin that used to be the scale house for the quarry...AND there was an outdoor shower. Life doesn't get any better than an outdoor shower. Okay, back to the tomatoes.

a ton of tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. dried oregano
1 T. sugar
fresh herbs, chopped (I used rosemary to roast and basil, oregano, and thyme in the sauce)

I had three of these huge trays.

Preheat your oven to 425. Wash, dry, and core all tomatoes. Squeeze the seeds out into a bowl, and discard this later. It is okay if the skin splits or it doesn't look pretty after this step. Then, cut each tomato into roughly six equal slices. Place on the lightly greased cookie sheet. Repeat with the remainder of the tomatoes. Once all tomatoes are seeded and sliced, drizzle them lightly with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. I laid a sprig of rosemary atop the tomatoes for added flavor and discarded it after the roasting. Roast for 40 - 45 minutes. Let them cool for about 30 minutes or so.

I don't like the tomato skin, so I removed them at this point. It is much easier to do once they have been roasted. Add the meat of each tomato to a colander while you are skinning the rest. You will want to drain off all of the liquid; otherwise, you are stuck with a very watery tomato sauce. Once you have skinned the tomatoes, drop them into a blender and puree. If you have an immersion blender, you may puree them after you add them to the pot.

Blended tomatoes.

In a large pot, sweat the onion, dried oregano, and garlic in olive oil (1 T) over medium heat. I let it cook long enough for the onions to being to caramelize, but you may add the tomatoes after the onions turn translucent (4 minutes or so). After you add the tomatoes, add sugar and fresh herbs, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for at least 45 minutes. Serve or freeze until you are ready to use.

I froze half  in a glass jar. Make sure you leave room for it to expand, and if you use a jar, don't put a tight seal on it until it is completely frozen. I topped it with plastic wrap overnight, and put the jar top the next morning. You don't want to a) clean up glass in the freezer OR more importantly, b) waste your hard work!

Turn this into pizza sauce by adding a couple tablespoons of tomato paste to help it thicken.