Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

My favourite way to preserve the freshness of summer. This is a great sauce to pull out of the freezer in the middle of winter. Super quick and easy, and very satisfying. Toss this sauce with your favourite pasta for a quick weekday meal. Make some to enjoy now and some for the freezer. My guys love this.

Quarter 8 cups of fresh, in season tomatoes. Chop 1 cup onions.

In a large glass baking pan (10x15 inch)toss all the ingredients(except the parsley) together. No kidding, that's all you do.

Tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper flakes, sugar, oil and wine all go into the pan. Save the parsley for the end. 

And in one hour you have a beautifully roasted sauce. If your sauce does not have nice browned bits like this then just leave it in the oven for another half hour.

Mash with a potato masher to break up the tomatoes and garlic. If you prefer a chunky sauce, mash less. If your family prefers a smoother sauce, mash more. It's up to you.

Use a fork to scrape the very delicious browned bits off of the side of the pan. If your family is bothered by the tomato skins you can pick them out after the sauce has cooled a bit. My family doesn't mind the skin, so I just leave them in. After the sauce has cooled you can freeze it  in 2-3 cup containers. It will keep for 6 months in your freezer.

While the sauce is cooling, cook the pasta. Reserve a cup of the pasta water for the sauce.

OK. This is the secret that Italians have for making their pasta taste awesome. 

Add the pasta to the sauce in a pan and cook on high heat for a few minutes. 

 Cooking the pasta with the sauce makes the pasta absorb the sauce. This technique will make your pasta very flavourful. This is how Italians do it, that's the secret. If you feel like there is not enough sauce, add the reserved pasta water to the pot. 

I like to serve this pasta with freshly grated parmesan, Romano or granna padano cheeses, freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. YUM!

Watch me make it on You Tube

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

8 cups quartered tomatoes
1 cup onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, whole
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a 10x15 inch glass pan combine everything except the parsley.
3. Toss to coat the tomatoes in the oil.
4. Roast for one to one and one half hours until the edges of the tomatoes have blackened a bit.
5. Stir occasionally.
6. Remove pan from oven. Mash the tomatoes and garlic with a potato masher until everything have combined. Is you prefer a chunkier sauce, mash less. If you prefer a smoother sauce, mash more.
7. Add parsley at the very end.
8. Sauce may be frozen at this point in 2-3 cup containers. Keeps for six months in the freezer
9. Or, Toss cooked pasta with the sauce.
10.

Tomato Mushroom Linguini

Fridge to table in 60 minutes. Doubles well and reheats well. I love to make this at the end of summer when the tomatoes are ripe and perfect. This dish showcases the tomatoes and herbs from your garden beautifully. If you don't have your own tomatoes of herbs, buy from the farmers market instead. 

Just basic, wholesome ingredients

Sauté the onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for two or three minutes. 

Add the mushrooms and garlic. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Sauté on medium-low heat,until the mushrooms release their moisture.

These brown bits in the bottom of the pan are just what you want.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the white wine and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan. This will add terrific flavour to your sauce. If you don't have white wine or would prefer not to use wine, substitute with chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes, string occasionally.

While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta. I like to make this dish with linguini, but you can substitute any kind of pasta that you like. Cook pasta in plenty of salted water. The Italians say that the water should be as salty as the sea. Taste the water to make sure that you have added enough salt.

See how the tomatoes have softened and released their juices. Add the herbs now. Taste the sauce and add more salt or pepper if necessary. Sometimes, tomatoes can be a bit acidic. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar to balance the flavours if the tomatoes are too acidic.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Increase the heat and gently stir the pasta and sauce together. The pasta will absorb the sauce. If the pasta becomes too dry, add the pasta water to the pan. Adding the pasta to the sauce instead of the sauce to the pasta produces a much more flavourful sauce. The Italians call this "il secreto"(the secret). Secrets our of the bag now.

The last step is to add some olive oil. Adding a bit of olive oil right at the end adds a lovely flavour and luscious mouth feel to the dish.

Pass some parmesan cheese and freshly grated black pepper.

Yum!

Watch Me Make It On You Tube 

Tomato Mushroom Linguini

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 onion. diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup finely diced herbs(Italian parsley, basil, and thyme)

500 grams linguini, cooked and drained

1 cup reserved pasta water, if the sauce is too dry

1/2 teaspoon sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic

Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper to serve.

Sauté the onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for two or three minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Sauté on medium-low heat,until the mushrooms release their moisture. Continue to cook the mushrooms until there are brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the white wine and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan. If you don't have white wine or would prefer not to use wine, substitute with chick or vegetable stock. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta. I like to make this dish with linguini, but you can substitute any kind of pasta that you like. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water. The Italians say that the water should be as salty as the sea. Taste the water to make sure that you have added enough. Add the herbs to the tomato mixture now. Taste the sauce and add more salt or pepper if necessary. Sometimes, tomatoes can be a bit acidic. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar to balance the flavours if the tomatoes are too acidic. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Increase the heat and gently stir the pasta and sauce together. The pasta will absorb the sauce. If the pasta becomes too dry, add the pasta water to the pan. 

The last step is to add some olive oil. Adding a bit of olive oil right at the end adds a lovely flavour and mouth feel to the dish. Pass the Parmesan and pepper at the table.

Buon appetito

Endorsed by son number three