Perfect Roasted Red Tomato Sauce

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This sauce is PERFECT for baked ziti, spaghetti, lasagna, or any dish calling for red sauce. I’ve tweaked this sauce to perfection, and I’ve had good luck using it fresh, freezing it, and canning it.  Let me tell you how to make it!

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Perfect Roasted Red Tomato Sauce

Author: Ruth

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Large Onion
• 3-5 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 Celery Stems, chopped small
• 6-8 Quarts Tomatoes, halved, roasted, and peeled
• 1/2 Cup Red wine, Chianti or Cooking wine
• 5-10 Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped fine
• 1-2 6 oz. Can(s) of Tomato Paste optional

Italian Seasonings

• 1 Tbsp Dehydrated Onion
• 1 Tbsp Dehydrated Garlic
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 1 Tsp Dried Basil
• 1 Tsp Dried Parsley
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Lemon zest
• 2 Bay Leaves (whole)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to roast at 400 degrees.

2. Wash tomatoes, then cut in half. Place skin-side up on baking sheet.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until skin just browns.  Remove from oven. Pull skins off immediately. 

3. In large pot, heat olive oil over low-medium heat. Cook chopped onion and celery until almost clear, about 4-5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more, until fragrant. 

4. Add de-skinned, roasted tomatoes to the pot. Stir to combine.

5. Stir in wine, tomato paste (if desired) and fresh basil.

6. Add seasonings and stir. 

7. Bring to just below a boil, then reduce heat to low-med. Cook uncovered until desired consistency is reached (sauce will continue to thicken the longer you cook), approximately 45 minutes-1 hour (longer for thicker sauce). 

The secret to this sauce is roasting the tomatoes. It draws out the flavors and makes for such a rich texture.  You can use any tomatoes you like; I even added in some yellow varieties.

You’ll notice some tomatillos in the upper left…I keep trying to grow these…they don’t go into this sauce, but they might add a nice tang 🙂 The yellows in this photo are so sweet, my family just eats them up fresh, so I don’t put the into the sauce.  Just the larger varieties.  I like the Romas since they have less juice and make a thicker sauce, but I also love the flavor of the bigger varieties.  Whatever you choose, just wash, cut in half, and place skin-side up on a baking sheet.  I don’t spray or oil the sheets, the juices from the tomatoes prevent them from sticking.  I also cut out the core with my paring knife, as well as any other “bad spots” I don’t want to use. I roast them at 400 degrees (pre-heat the oven) for about 30 minutes, sometimes more if the skins aren’t browning/blackening yet.  It helps if you have a tray of tomatoes that are relatively the same size, since they will be done at the same time. Once the skins are blackened, they will easily pull away from the tomatoes.  Through trial and error, I’ve learned that they will pull away easiest RIGHT as you remove them from the oven. In the photo, you can see how they have separated and I can just pinch them off.  However, they are HOT.  So, if they haven’t separated and aren’t pulling off, then I just wait for them to cool a little and I can be a little more aggressive. If this is the case, then I just use both hands and wiggle or squeeze the skins off.  

Here you can see what they look like on the sheet, with the skins removed.  Now I can just leave them sit until I’m ready to put them in the sauce.  Typically, I’ll prepare and roast about 4 sheets for this biggish batch of sauce (about 8-10 quarts). I haven’t tried to do more than one sheet at a time, I’m not sure they would blacken easily if you stacked them.  You could also use canned tomatoes if you don’t have fresh available. Once I have 2 sheets done, I start preparing the rest of the sauce.  Over medium heat, I heat up about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, then add in the chopped onion (1 largish onion) and 2-3 chopped celery stalks. Cook that (stirring pretty constantly) in the hot oil for 4-5 minutes, then add 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic for a few minutes more (still stirring).  You can always add more garlic than this, it’s never too much. Once the celery, onion, and garlic have turned clear and fragrant (but before browning), add in the roasted, de-skinned tomatoes you have prepared, and continue to add them until you are done with the roasting. Now we are ready for the fun stuff.  RED WINE.  This brings out the flavors and adds flavors of its own.  You can use whatever bottle you have open (I like Chianti for the Italian flair), or just red cooking wine from your fridge. I put in about 1/2 a cup, but you can add more or less. At this point, I might also put in a few shakes of balsamic vinegar if I’m feeling it. Here’s the wine before stirring in. Next, stir in all the seasonings listed in the recipe above.  I like to add the dehydrated onion and garlic even though I’ve also put in the fresh stuff.  Never too much flavor in those departments!Since I have fresh basil in my garden, I add in about 7-10 leaves, chopped fine.  You could also use more dried, if necessary. At this point, I see how the consistency of the sauce is based on my tomato varieties and decide if I want to add canned tomato paste.  Usually I add just one 6 oz can, but if it still looks thin, I might add two cans. Then, just turn down the heat to med-low (you don’t really want it to boil much), and let ‘er simmer.  I leave the lid off because it helps the water to evaporate and make a thicker sauce.  You can also leave the lid on if you feel it is already thick enough.  I stir it frequently (but not constantly) for about 45-60 mins.  Because the tomatoes are already roasted, it doesn’t need much more than that.  

After it cools for a bit, it’s ready for canning. You can also let it cool all the way and then freeze in freezer bags.  Yes, it is a bit time and labor intensive, but nothing is better on a cold winter day than preservative-free, sugar-free, summer roasted sauce! This recipe usually makes 6-8 quarts, and I usually keep some fresh in the fridge too.