Roasted Tomato Sauce

This is a great sauce to make in the winter when sweet, fresh tomatoes are not available. You can also make this is the summer with your fresh homegrown tomatoes or some from your local farmers market, just roast them on your grill instead of the oven. If you don?t have fresh herbs, substitute with dried herbs.

Ingredients:

10 Roma tomatoes 6 gloves of garlic, minced 1 sweet onion, diced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 14.5 oz Italian Diced Tomatoes ? cup Chianti or dry red wine 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or marjoram chopped (2 tsp dried) 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (2 tsp dried) 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley (2 tsp dried) ? cup fresh Basil chopped (1 tablespoon dried) Salt & pepper to taste Directions:

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Wash and core the tomatoes. Cut them in half and lay the cut side down on a baking sheet. If you are not using a coated, non-stick baking sheet, line it first with parchment paper so that the acid in the tomatoes does not react with the metal in the pan. Brush the tomatoes with olive oil and roast in the oven until the skins are blackened and start to bubble. Meanwhile chop your onion, garlic and fresh herbs.

In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saut? the onions just until they start to turn transparent, then add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and if you are using dried herbs, you can sprinkle some of the herbs into the olive oil for more flavor. Saut? for one minute stirring constantly so that the garlic does not burn. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan by adding the wine all at once and stirring while scraping the bottom of your pan with a flat edged wooden spoon until the wine has reduced a little and the alcohol has cooked off. Add the canned tomatoes and reduce heat to a simmer.

When the tomatoes are finished roasting, peel the skin and add them to the sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes. If you are going to serve your sauce immediately, start to boil your pasta and they will cook together.

Remove the sauce from the heat and fill your blender only half full. Place on the lid and blend until smooth. Blend the sauce in batches and return blended sauce to your sauce pan. Stir in the fresh basil and it is ready to serve over pasta. This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days or stored in your freezer.

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