Farm To Table: Delicious Slow-Roasted Tomato Sauce

The beauty of growing many tomato plants is that you experiment with different varieties and have a consistent crop throughout the season. But when dozens ripen all at once, you need a plan. This delicious roasted tomato sauce is perfect for pasta on colder days and freezes well so you can enjoy fresh tomatoes all year long! 

Let me start by saying I’ve made pasta sauce from scratch before, and while I’ve always enjoyed it, I found the process to be long and tedious. I don’t like blanching, peeling, and seeding tomatoes, a method recommended by many recipes. It seems like such a waste, too. 

This time, I decided to slow-roast my tomato crop with onions, garlic, and seasonings. No peeling or seeding is required! Roasting the tomatoes allows for deep flavor. The result is a mouth-watering, nutritious sauce the whole family can enjoy. 

How To Make It

Heat the oven to 400°F. 

Start by cutting your tomatoes into wedges. Use any variety you have on hand. Roma tomatoes are said to be the best for sauce making, but I used a mix of Quebec 13’s, Beefsteaks, Dad’s Sunset, Yellow Flame, Montreal Tasty, Mac Pink, and Early Minsk. Lots of flavors coming together there! 

 

Place the tomatoes in a large roasting pan (or two smaller ones). 

Add two medium-sized onions, sliced, and garlic. We love garlic in my household, so I added an entire bulb to the dish. Don’t press it, but crush it, so it carmelizes nicely in the oven. 

Toss the mixture with a few drizzles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. I added salt and pepper, chili flakes, and Italian seasoning. 

Roast in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, stirring now and then. 

Once the tomato mixture has softened, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, and add to a blender, working in batches as necessary. 

At this point, you can toss fresh herbs from the garden into the blender as well. I used basil, oregano, and parsley. 

Blend until smooth and add to a large pot. Add some salt and pepper to taste. I also used sugar to cut some of the acidity from the sauce. 

Keep it vegetarian, or if you’d prefer, add some cooked ground beef to the sauce. I put a fresh parmesan rind into the pot and let it simmer while the pasta was cooking. 

The result? A super flavorful tomato sauce that you can feel great about eating. Serve with zucchini noodles or regular pasta, and, of course, garlic bread! 

Bon appetit! 

Be sure to try perfect pesto sauce for a green alternative!