Despite the challenge of our cold climate, I love growing tomatoes, and plant them every summer. And after 10 years, I’m even getting pretty good at cultivating them. Of course, then there’s the question of what to do with all the tomatoes we can’t use immediately, to which I say: Challenge Accepted!
This is the easiest way I know to make tomato sauce. And if you’re not familiar with Anaheim chili peppers, give them a try. I love their earthy vegetable flavor and mild but creeping heat.
If you can’t grow your own fresh vegetables, opt for those at your local farmer’s market or buy a CSA share. Avoid tasteless supermarket veg at all costs!
Ingredients
5-6 pounds fresh tomatoes
6-8 Anaheim chili peppers
2 heads of garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 400F.
Rinse the tomatoes and chili peppers and lay them out on a roasting pan. Separate the cloves of the garlic but leave the skins on, and add them to the pan as well. Douse liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Roast the vegetables for about 30 minutes, or until everything is nice and soft.
Remove the pan from the oven, and allow the vegetables to cool. Then, carefully slip the skins off of the tomatoes and pop the hard tops off the peppers. Squeeze the garlic out of each clove.
Scoop the veg into your food processor and blend until silky. (You may have to do this in a couple of batches.) Be sure to scrape all the yummy bits and olive oil from the pan.
Set aside a portion of sauce to use on the day (mmm, fresh sauce!); then portion out the remaining sauce into freezer bags or vacuum sealer bags and freeze.
