So, yesterday I made the first batch of my favorite oven roasted red sauce of the season.
Start with some tomatoes. It doesn't matter what type, or variety of types, you use. If you use sauce type tomatoes, or a lot of them in your mix of tomatoes, you'll get a thicker sauce. I used a combination of a San Marzano and Amish Paste.
Slice them in half lengthwise (pole to pole) and lay them cut side up on a sheet pan or some sort of shallow baking sheet that has edges. A shallow pan will allow your liquid to cook off more quickly than a deeper pan. Sprinkle each pan with salt and pepper (I use only coarse Kosher salt), yesterday I used dried Mediterranean oregano, torn fresh Genovese basil, a big pinch of last year's dried Arbol pepper flakes, 3 or 4 whole, peeled garlic cloves per sheet, then drizzled the whole pan with extra virgin olive.
Roast them at 250F for 4 hours, until the tops are dry and the tomatoes themselves are still meaty and moist. Yesterday, I got impatient and after two hours upped the temp to 300 for an hour.
When I want a chunkier sauce, I use the coarsest blade on my OXO food mill to grind the roasted tomatoes. There were some caramelized bits on the sheet pans, so I used a small amount of really hot water to scrape and dissolve that and put it in the sauce, too. Since it's just my husband and I, I freeze 1/2 cup portions of the sauce.
Usually, I have tons more tomatoes to do in a single sitting. Yesterday, I only did two trays, which made about 5 cups of sauce. Total, that took about 45 minutes of working time.
Start with some tomatoes. It doesn't matter what type, or variety of types, you use. If you use sauce type tomatoes, or a lot of them in your mix of tomatoes, you'll get a thicker sauce. I used a combination of a San Marzano and Amish Paste.
Slice them in half lengthwise (pole to pole) and lay them cut side up on a sheet pan or some sort of shallow baking sheet that has edges. A shallow pan will allow your liquid to cook off more quickly than a deeper pan. Sprinkle each pan with salt and pepper (I use only coarse Kosher salt), yesterday I used dried Mediterranean oregano, torn fresh Genovese basil, a big pinch of last year's dried Arbol pepper flakes, 3 or 4 whole, peeled garlic cloves per sheet, then drizzled the whole pan with extra virgin olive.
Roast them at 250F for 4 hours, until the tops are dry and the tomatoes themselves are still meaty and moist. Yesterday, I got impatient and after two hours upped the temp to 300 for an hour.
When I want a chunkier sauce, I use the coarsest blade on my OXO food mill to grind the roasted tomatoes. There were some caramelized bits on the sheet pans, so I used a small amount of really hot water to scrape and dissolve that and put it in the sauce, too. Since it's just my husband and I, I freeze 1/2 cup portions of the sauce.
Usually, I have tons more tomatoes to do in a single sitting. Yesterday, I only did two trays, which made about 5 cups of sauce. Total, that took about 45 minutes of working time.
