Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

By Jamie Levato, Education Director

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce
Adapted from The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard

*Makes: 3 ½ cups (875 mL)*

I love The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. It is packed with interesting and delicious recipes for preserving the harvest. This is a great recipe for using your garden or CSA share produce! It is tasty and easy. I am going to walk you through the steps and my modifications. PLEASE NOTE: This recipe is suitable for canning as written and should not be modified if you want to can it. That being said, the recipe does not make a lot of sauce so it is also great for just eating or freezing. Personally, I do not like to heat up the kitchen with the canner, unless I have a full load to process. When I tested this recipe, I made modifications and I decided to freeze it.

Skip down to the recipe.

Step One

On a lightly greased baking sheet place: tomatoes, garlic, onions, and pepper. Roast for 45 mins (or until soft and blistered) at 450° F in the oven. Remove the garlic after 12 to 15 mins.  Let cool.

Since tomatoes are all different sizes, I would suggest sticking with the 2.5 lbs of plum tomatoes. For me, that was 64 Juliet tomatoes from the PYO section at PFP. It is also about 8 of the Plum Regal tomatoes that have been in the “sauce pack” choice item at CSA pick up. I made the recipe twice, once with a combination of Juliets and some San Marzanos from my garden and another time just with Juliets. I used a red pepper one time and a yellow pepper the other time. Both worked well. In one batch, I used the 2 small onions that were called for, but in the other batch I used only one because it seemed like too much.

Step Two

Peel the skin off tomatoes; Sit a bowl underneath to catch the tomato juice. Squeeze out the soft parts of the onions and garlic cloves. Peel and  seed the pepper. Blend roasted ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

I found it easiest to peel the skin off the tomatoes while they were still in the pan so the pan would catch the juices. Next, I squeezed tender parts of the onions and garlic out of their papery skin and took care of the pepper. I like to save all vegetable scraps in a bag in the freezer to make stock with later. I put all the roasted ingredients into my food processor along with the pan drippings. Of course, I used my favorite kitchen tool, the rubber spatula, to get every last drop!

Step Three

Transfer the puree into a stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring sauce to a boil on high. Lower heat and let boil uncovered for 15 mins or until texture is to your liking. Stir frequently.

After blending until smooth, I heated the puree in my stock pot with the remaining ingredients.I used oregano that I had harvested and dried from my garden. Because I had decided I would freeze the sauce, I only added half of the balsamic vinegar. If I were to do it again, I would omit the sugar because it was quite sweet with the sugar and only half of the balsamic since the pepper and onion and even the tomatoes add so much sweetness. You will notice that the final photo with the freezer tubs shows more than the 3.5 cups this recipe is supposed to make. I think this is the case for two reasons. 1. I mixed my two batches together; and 2. It was pretty thick so I did not cook it down for 15 minutes as suggested by the recipe.

Step Four

Preserve: Ladle into hot pint mason jars leaving ½ headspace and process in a boiling water bath for 35 min. Review the procedure for waterbath canning here.

If you are going to can this recipe, please remember to avoid modifying the recipe. I froze it by ladeling into tubs leaving space for it to expand, capping and labelling with the contents and the date. I also like to keep a note on the side of my refrigerator with all of the contents of the freezer listed so I know what I have.

When you are ready to serve, prepare your pasta or vegetable noodles and top with the sauce. You can also make it a pasta primavera by sauteing additional veggies like carrots, zucchini, and fennel and serving them on the side or tossed with the pasta. I hope you enjoy the recipe! Please share your suggestions, questions, and modifications in the comments below.

Ingredients:

10 plum tomatoes, about 2 ½ lbs (unpeeled)
4 garlic cloves (unpeeled)2 small onions (unpeeled)
1 sweet red pepper
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp freshly chopped oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt

Steps:

1. On a lightly greased baking sheet place: tomatoes, garlic, onions, and pepper. Roast for 45 mins (or until soft and blistered) at 450° F in the oven. Remove the garlic after 12 to 15 mins .  Let cool.

2. Peel the skin off tomatoes; Sit a bowl underneath to catch the tomato juice. Squeeze out the soft parts of the onions and garlic cloves. Peel and  seed the pepper. Blend roasted ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

3. Transfer the puree into a stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring sauce to a boil on high. Lower heat and let boil uncovered for 15 mins or until texture is to your liking. Stir frequently.

4. Preserve: Ladle into hot pint mason jars leaving ½ headspace and process in a boiling water bath for 35 min.