20140816

Question: when a person has fifteen pounds of tomatoes at her disposal, and she's made salsa and salads and even more salads and she still has a largesse of tomatoes that are rapidly becoming very, very ripe, what is that person to do?

The answer is to make this easy, savoury, and family-friendly roasted tomato sauce! Roasting really intensifies the flavour of the tomatoes, and the pureed result is a thick, delectable sauce that clings nicely to any pasta. I usually triple or quadruple this recipe, and then store it in airtight containers in the freezer for a fast weeknight meal. When the leaves have fallen and the air is cold, I will pull this from the freezer and enjoy the flavours of late summer.

I like to eat this with a side of roasted zucchini or cauliflower; my kids and husband like to eat this with a side of meatballs.

Ingredients

3 medium ripe tomatoes

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 sweet onion

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, sprayed lightly with cooking spray.

Halve tomatoes and cherry tomatoes and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, sliced side down.

Slice onions into long slivers or rings and arrange them among the tomato halves.

Crush garlic; add to olive oil along with Italian seasoning. Drizzle over top the tomatoes and onion.

Roast in oven for 35 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, puree the vegetables until very smooth. Add sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Toss with prepared pasta, top with grated Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

This recipe can be doubled (or tripled or quadrupled) and frozen.

I’ve posted this recipe for meatballs before, but I think it bears repeating: when it comes to meatballs the simplest recipe is the best.

Occam’s Razor Meatballs

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together by hand, forming into 1 ½ inch balls.

Bake on a greased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet in a 425 degree oven for about ten minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink in the middle.

Adapted from Family.com

Yield: Makes about 2 1/2 cups of sauce

Nutritional Information, per 1/2 cup serving, sauce only (approximate): Calories: 45, Total Carbohydrates: 7 grams, Fibre: 2 grams, Sugar: 4 grams, Protein: 1 gram, Fat: 2 grams