Roasted Fresh Tomato Sauce
When summer tomatoes are at their peak, they really don’t need much. This simple tomato sauce lets them do all the work: juicy tomatoes are slow-roasted with olive oil, garlic and fresh oregano, then blended until silky smooth. Use it for pasta, pizza, or as the base for my Tomato Orzo with Chicken Thighs.
Yield: About 3-4 cups
Servings: 6-8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
2–2½ pounds ripe tomatoes, quartered
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
4–5 sprigs fresh oregano
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Add the quartered tomatoes, olive oil, smashed garlic and oregano sprigs to a large Dutch oven. Season generously with salt and black pepper and gently toss until the tomatoes are coated in olive oil.
Cover the Dutch oven and roast for 60–75 minutes, until the tomatoes are very soft and easily collapse when pressed with a wooden spoon.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove and discard the oregano stems.
Using an immersion blender, blend the tomatoes, garlic and juices until completely smooth. You can also carefully transfer everything to a standard blender and blend until smooth.
Taste and adjust with additional salt and black pepper as needed.
Serving Suggestions
Toss with your favorite pasta and plenty of Parmesan
Use as pizza sauce for homemade pizza
Spoon over meatballs or chicken Parmesan
Use it as the base for Tomato Orzo with Chicken Thighs
Freeze it now and give your future winter self a little taste of summer
Storage
Store in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
The sauce also freezes beautifully. Freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months, leaving a little room at the top for expansion. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stove.
Maddie's Tip
This is a summer tomato recipe. There are plenty of great ways to make tomato sauce with canned tomatoes year-round, but this particular sauce is all about taking advantage of those ridiculously juicy, actually-taste-like-something summer tomatoes. Beefsteaks are great, but use whatever big, ripe tomatoes you can get your hands on.
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