Use this recipe for pasta sauce and pizza all tomato season long! AND here is how to have it on hand the rest of the year too! Use your freezer!
Yes, we serve “Cold Pizza” as a menu choice at the inn and this fresh sauce is why guests say “WOW!”!
Roma tomatoes are high in bulk and low in water so they are ideal for sauce. When they are roasted with olive oil they take on a considerable sweetness. The amount of garlic you add to batches is arbitrary and personal…I prefer lots. I don’t add salt or pepper either, that is up to you.
The process is easy though time consuming. It’s worth it. Get bushels of fresh Roma tomatoes from a local farmer. Wash and dry them. Lay them out on a sheet or towels to fully ripen. Don’t use orange tomatoes…wait for them to ripen, the flavor is worth it! Just take a week or two and do a sheet or two every other evening or two, or on the weekend. When they ripen (they should be very red), and AS they ripen, roast them with heads of garlic.
Cover cookie sheets with heavy duty aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 400 degrees if they are small tomatoes, 425 if large. Cut tops off tomatoes and cut in half longways. Cut tops of the heads of garlic so that every clove is snipped. Lay in pan and drizzle all with olive oil. Roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes if small tomatoes, 425 degrees for 45 minutes if large. Tomatoes should look shriveled, not burnt. Garlic should be golden brown; sometimes the garlic needs another round of roasting depending on size. OMG the house smells AMAZING!
When coming out of oven, transfer to large bowls. Put garlic in separate bowl. Let cool. Drain off excess water and oil as you put tomatoes into Ziplock Quart Freezer bags. Remove garlic cloves from the heads (lift out with a butter knife) and into a bowl and then also into the freezer bags with the tomatoes. Suck all the air out of the freezer bags and place in fridge overnight before moving to the freezer the next day.
When you are ready to use, place frozen bag in a bowl in the fridge. It may take a day or two to defrost. When ready, drain off all water and then put tomatoes and garlic in the blender. Instant tomato “marinara” sauce! Mangiamo!