Roasted Tomato Sauce

Dear Beet,

Alix Schwartz, at the University Terrace, Berkeley, pick-up spot, a year or two ago gave this description of how she produces a wonderful tomato sauce from a lot of tomatoes: “I just cut them in half, put the cut side up on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, drizzle the tiniest bit of olive oil on top, sprinkle a little salt, and put in a 225° oven for eight hours (often while I sleep). If they are smaller, use less time or less heat. If they are bigger, cut in quarters. Then slip off the skins, blend into a thick sauce, and freeze. I put them in containers in the freezer until they are frozen, then vacuum pack them so they last longer. Voila!” 

Phyllis Schafer (also at University Terrace) reminded us that it might be good to repeat this as tomato season starts. She adds, “I didn’t even bother with removing the skins. I froze many of them in old-fashioned metal ice cube trays (the kind that release the cubes as you pull up on a handle). The cubes then simply went into freezer bags. One 20 lb. box didn’t last long enough for me to worry about vacuum packing! Absolutely delicious.”

Dear Beet,

Last week I prepared this with your garlic tomato and basil.

It was amazing ...Thanks for your great fresh produce!

http://slenderrecipes.blogspot.com/2013/08/mushroom-basil-tomato-salad.html

--Swarna Mani