Tomatoes and Sauce...Oh My!

This year produced a bumper crop of tomatoes. My mother contributed her excess tomatoes to the cause. I have been roasting and pureeing tomatoes for a month! I froze the puree until there was enough to make sauce. Today I made sauce.

A large and medium stock pot full of puree. From the sauce I canned 14 pints of sauce and froze 1 quart. 

The darker ones are in blue jars. It makes the sauce look brown, but it is the same as the others.

Yesterday and today we picked more tomatoes.

I will be roasting and pureeing more soon, but not tonight. I am tired! I started before 10 am and finished at 8:30 pm.

Puree

Clean and core tomatoes. Cut in half. Place in pan cut sides up and drizzle with olive oil. Add minced garlic and fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and parsley). Dried Italian Seasoning works well too. 

Roast for 50-60 minutes at 350, reduce to 325 for 50-60 minutes, and then raise to 375 for 20-30 minutes. I check the progress every 20-30 minutes. I find when I have one 9 x 12 pan, the minimum times work. When I have the roasting pan and 3-9x12 pans I need to roast at the maximum times.

Let the tomatoes cool. Process through food mill. Freeze the puree until there is enough for sauce.

Sauce

Fill large stock pot with puree. Add 1-1/2 cups of white wine (I use Pino Grigio) and two bay leaves. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to a simmer. Let the sauce cook down. When almost done, add garlic (3-4 cloves) and Italian Seasoning (3 tbsp). At this point the sauce should have reduced 1/4 to 1/3 from where you started. Continue to simmer until reduces some more. Then put on low heat and let reduce some more. When the color is a deep red and it is thick (pulpy), it is done. 

Can - Eat - Enjoy!

Nancy