Experiencing a tomato surplus? Looking for something to do with all of those bad boys that won’t take up your entire day? This one’s for you. This is more of a method than a hard and fast recipe, and yields will vary depending on what you’re working with. You can keep it pure and just use the ingredients listed below, or toss in a pepper or two to spice things up.
INGREDIENTS
Tomatoes: Any variety, whatever you need to use up!*
Whole Garlic Cloves
Basil – at least one big bunch, washed and large stems removed
S and P to taste
Grapeseed oil as needed
* If you have a choice, go for roma/plum tomatoes.
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 450F
- Wash tomatoes and cut them in half. Toss with a very small amount of grapeseed oil (it’s important to use a “high heat” oil – not EVOO!), and place them skin side up on a baking sheet.
- Make a small slit in the tops of a few tomatoes, and sneak a garlic clove inside. (Roasting mellows the garlic out, so don’t be afraid to go big!)
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the skins of the tomatoes blister.
- When the skins are sufficiently blistery, remove your pan from the oven. Now you have a choice of whether or not you want to remove the skins. They’ll come off very easily at this stage, just pull them off! Or leave them on if you want a more rustic final product.
- Place tomatoes, garlic, and a big pinch of salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times – I like to leave it a bit chunky.
- Add basil to food processor and pulse a few times to mix it in. Again, I like the leaves to remain more-or-less whole, so I don’t process very much.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Notes: I filled up a 15 X 21 inch sheet pan and ended up with just under two quarts of sauce. Well covered, this should last in your fridge for up to two weeks.