Tomatoes, luscious ripe Roma tomatoes, are still in abundance thank goodness in North Queensland, but soon it will be too hot, and the season will be finished. So much of my cooking at present is about preserving what is seasonal, so that I have it either in my freezer or my pantry when those particular items become too expensive. However, at times I weaken and use those supplies, like last night when we indulged in homemade pasta and whilst I had made a delicious bolognese sauce as well, I just had to try my new Roasted Tomato sauce. I think everyone enjoyed it.
It is so easy but lots of tomatoes are required, so I think it will be a trip to the markets again to buy some more.
Dear friends do you find that you preserve excess quantities of fruit and vegetables for the future but find yourself dipping into them for convenience. I think it just makes life easy at times and takes the pressure off if guests are arriving, After all isn't that what a lot of restaurants do?
This Tomato sauce recipe is a River Cottage classic, obviously made over there with a selection of British tomatoes and this can be the mainstay of a lot of delicious meat based and vegetable cooking.
 |
| Trays and trays of tomatoes waiting to be roasted |
This recipe makes about 500 ml of sauce
1.5-2 kg ripe tomatoes, larger ones halved (A selection can be used but I used all very ripe Roma tomatoes)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A few sprigs of thyme
A couple of sprigs of marjoram if you have it but not essential
2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. Lay the tomatoes, cut side up if halved, on a baking try. Scatter the garlic and herbs over the top, trickle over the olive oil, and season with plenty of salt and pepper.
Put the tray in the oven for about an hour, until the tomatoes are completely soft and pulpy, and starting to crinkle and caramelise on top. Yum!
Take the tomatoes out of the oven and set aside the baking tray on a cooling tray for about half an hour or so. Depending on the tomatoes, you may not need to rub them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, or use a traditional mouli. I found that my tomatoes just popped out of their skins making it easy to simply process the tomato pulp into a sauce.
Bolognese Meat Sauce recipe
Homemade pasta recipe
I love using the Roma tomatoes for preserving. They seem meatier. Don't worry about eating your preserved tomato sauce for convenience - with all that delicious roasted tomato in the kitchen, congratulate yourself that it actually made it into the jars and got sealed in the first place !
ReplyDeleteYes Jean, Roma tomatoes are certainly my preferred choice for preserving as well. Best wishes,
ReplyDeletePauline