I came home from the farmer’s market yesterday morning with 2 punnets each of ripe tomatoes and red onions plus one of red peppers.
First thing this morning, I found myself roasting the tomatoes, red pepper, onions and garlic cloves. What resulted was a deeply flavoured tomato sauce perfect for pasta, pizza or gnocchi!
This makes about 6 cups of sauce.
Roasted Tomato And Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
1.6 kilos ripe, chemical free tomatoes
1 red pepper, poked with a fork or knife
3 red onions. trimmed on root end
8 cloves garlic, 6 trimmed on one end, 2 peeled and finely chopped (optional)
1 brown onion, peeled and chopped
2 red chillies, stems trimmed and finely chopped
fresh stalks of one bunch of basil or 1 tbs dried basil
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Method
Preheat a small oven with a roasting option or a conventional oven to 200c. Roast the tomatoes, red pepper, poked with a fork or knife (so it won’t blow up in the oven!) and onions on a non stick baking tray (lined with baking paper if using a conventional oven) or pan for 30 minutes. Add the garlic later and roast for 15-20 minutes.
Peel the brown onion and garlic and finely chop. Trim the chilli stems and finely chop.
Put the onions, red pepper and garlic cloves in a glass container and seal. Set aside and let it cool. Remove the skins from the tomatoes and their juices and place in a blender jar.
Remove the stem, seeds and skin from the red pepper, the outer skin from the garlic and onions and add them all to the blender along with any juices. Blend until you have a smooth sauce.
Heat a medium sized dutch oven to a low heat and cook the brown onion for 5-10 minutes. Add the fresh or dried basil and cook for several minutes. Add a splash of filtered water if the onions begin to stick. Add in the blended sauce along with a cup of filtered water to wash out the blender jar. Bring to a boil. Add the garlic, chilli and salt.
Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes stirring frequently. If you like a thicker sauce, simmer uncovered. Turn off the heat and blend the sauce again. Store in glass containers and refrigerate for use in the upcoming few days or freezer for later use.