Tomato sauce made from oven-roasted tomatoes

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 2 kg tomato(s), aromatic
• Salt and pepper, black, from the mill
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, squeezed
• ½ bunch basil (about 1 handful), roughly picked
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 rosemary sprig(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Utilization of tomato glut

Preheat oven to 220°C (top/bottom heat). Halve the tomatoes and remove the stems. Place the tomatoes cut-side up in a roasting tin, season with salt, pepper, and sprinkle with a little sugar. Mix the olive oil with the crushed garlic cloves, the roughly torn basil leaves, and the herb sprigs, and spread over the tomatoes. Place in the oven (middle rack) for about 1 hour. You may want to turn on the grill for another 5-10 minutes towards the end, until the tomatoes have a few dark spots around the edges. Remove the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Puree the tomatoes and any excess liquid. If necessary, press them through a fine sieve or use a food mill to remove the skin and seeds. Tip: You can also use the oven’s drip tray; this holds 3 kg of tomatoes. However, I have found that the tomatoes develop a better flavor and roast a little more in a roasting tin. We love eating this sauce with pasta or, with a little vegetable stock, to make a fine tomato soup, and we use it for all dishes that would require a separate tomato sauce. There are two ways to preserve it: 1. After pureeing, bring the sauce back to the boil and pour it into prepared twist-off jars while it is still boiling hot. 2. Boil it down. For this, all jars should be the same size. Put the roasting pan in the oven on the lowest rack and add about 2 cm of water. Place the jars in the roasting pan, leaving some space between them. Set the temperature to 150 – 160 °C (fan oven). When bubbles start to rise evenly in the jars (after 30 – 40 minutes), turn off the oven and leave the jars in the switched-off oven for another 30 minutes, then remove them and let them cool.