Really Easy Roasted Tomato Sauce
My kids are a bit weird.
They have never been ‘tomato sauce kids’! They are practically un-Australian, I know!
Lots of kids though do eat a lot of tomato sauce.
Once the tomatoes have been heavily processed and mixed in with a heap of additives, sugar, salt and questionable oils they can no longer really be called a vegetable!
Sure, you can make your own ‘proper’ tomato sauce and I have done (the thermomix makes it pretty easy). I just find sterilizing all those bottles a little time-consuming! Quirky Cooking has an ace recipe if you want to try it out.
Anyway, this is my quick version of tomato sauce. Make a small amount. Store it in the fridge. Use within four to five days or freeze. No need to sterilize bottles. But do give them a good wash in hot soapy water!
The slow roasting brings out the beautiful flavours and makes it sweet.
We use it alongside meats for added flavour but it also makes a great easy meal by throwing some over the top of some chicken and whacking it in the oven to bake.
You can also use it on pizza, tossed through pasta, as a dipping sauce……. anything really!
It also tastes good with other veges added in like capsicum and zucchini, but keep the tomatoes as the main ingredient or it won’t be that nice red colour.
(We don’t want to freak the kids out tooooo much!)
Okay, so this is what you need:
Tomatoes (try to source some organic or pesticide free ones from a farmer’s market)
Red onion
Garlic
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Fresh herbs ( I like basil but whatever you have is fine)
Tiny sprinkle of rapadura sugar (optional)
Tiny sprinkle of pink himalayan salt
Tiny sprinkle of cracked black pepper
I don’t have exact measurements – you really don’t need them.
Okay, so this is how you do it:
Give your tomatoes a good wash and halve them.
Cut the red onion into wedges.
Whack in a baking dish with the garlic cloves (unpeeled).
Drizzle over the balsamic and olive oil.
Sprinkle with the sugar, salt and pepper.
Chuck into the oven on a low temperature – about 160°C for about one hour.
Let it cool down a little.
Squeeze the garlic out of their skins.
Chuck everything into your thermomix/blender/food processor.
Chuck in your fresh herbs.
Whizz. Taste and check for seasonings.
Slurp it into a bottle or jar.
Keep in the fridge or freeze portions.
Do you like tomato sauce? Do your kids eat it?