Want to learn the perfect way to utilize your fresh tomatoes? Whether you pick your tomatoes fresh or grab them from the store, learn how to make my secret homemade roasted tomato sauce without peeling that’s sure to spice up your spaghetti dinner.
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How To Pick Juicy Tomatoes:
Lucky for me, my mother-in-law’s neighbor happens to grow an abundance of Roma tomatoes ripened to a beautiful vibrant red.
When searching for tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce with, I tend to go with locally grown (in this case, real local!) tomatoes. When searching the plant, briefly search to pick the ripest ones that appear a deeper red and firm to touch.
I was lucky enough that the neighbor chose to grow Roma and even luckier she invited me to pick as many as I wanted.
Why Roma’s?
- Roma Tomatoes are meaty in flesh and contain less water than other varieties making them perfect for cooking down into a thicker sauce.
- If you’re like me, then making homemade spaghetti sauce is already a task in itself so I also like Roma’s for the fact they contain smaller seeds. This allows me to leave the seeds in my sauce and can skip straining my tomatoes in preparation for sauce.
- Roma’s are smaller than others in the tomato family, and once cooked down, they develop a rich concentrated flavor.
Stress Free and Easy Preparation:
- First, I begin by filling my (clean) sink up with cold water and then add all the tomatoes and vegetables that need cleaning.
- It’s important to give each one a good rinse to ensure that you remove all dirt and allows you to inspect the quality of the food. You can tell if a tomato is bad if it’s showing any physical signs such as a moldy spot. My mother-in-law give it the sniff test. Trust us, you’ll know if it’s bad with one sniff.
- Preheat your oven to 400F. I work in batches and fill a bowl up with tomatoes from the sink to move over to my cutting board. Working with a sharp knife, cut out the core of the tomato. My secret it using the small end of the melon baller to “scoop” out the core.
- Slice the tomato in half hot dog style, and place flesh side down on a baking pan. Drizzle olive oil over the flesh of the tomatoes, sprinkle with iodized salt, give them a good rub and place in the oven until the skins become visibly blistered or around 40 minutes. Times will vary stove to stove.
How to Make the SECRET sauce:
Now that your tomatoes have roasted, pour everything on the pan right into a roaster oven. Continue to roast your tomatoes at 275F, adding tomatoes until you run out! This allows the sauce to lightly simmer and thicken without burning as you continue to add ingredients.
I also scored 9 small green bell peppers from the neighbor’s garden that I added to my secret sauce. While you are waiting for your tomatoes to roast, core and chunk your green peppers before adding them to the roaster oven. I decided to leave my green pepper whole in this case due to the small size of the homegrown peppers.
Every great sauce begins with a great mirepoix. An array of aromatic vegetables like onions, celery, carrots for example. So, I decided to add in 4 whole onions that I peeled, then quartered before adding it into the roaster oven.
This is the FUN part! Adding garlic to your heart’s desire. For me, that ended up being 10 fresh heads of garlic cloves. YUP YOU READ THAT RIGHT 10 HEADS OF FRESH GARLIC. Let me tell you next time I will be doubling that number. Once I added the seasonings, the garlic got lost in the background for my preference.
After you have added all your roasted tomatoes, vegetables, aromatics you will want to use an immersion blender to combine all ingredients together. If you don’t have an Immersion Blender, let me tell you to buy one. DO IT! Game changer not having to pour hot liquids into a blender and then back into the pot.
Seasoning your homemade sauce:
I began with dried “Italian” seasoning which usually includes the herbs oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary and marjoram. You could use fresh herbs however I used what I have on hand!
Now the number of tomatoes I ended up having in my roaster oven was filled to the rim. So, I ran out of my on hand Italian seasoning and began to add the individual seasonings in to taste. I suggest that if you are new to the kitchen, to purchase a 20 Jar Spice Rack that includes a variety of spices!
My final secret to the perfect Spaghetti sauce was adding 3 tbsp. of red pepper flakes for heat.
- Fun fact: Red Pepper flakes hit your taste buds at the tip of your tongue compared to Cayenne that leaves you feeling the heat in the back of your throat.
Want to learn the perfect way to utilize your fresh tomatoes? Don’t miss this step!
Now that you have roasted your tomatoes, vegetables, aromatics and seasonings, don’t miss taste testing your sauce! This is necessary so that you can properly balance your sauces flavor. Is your sauce lacking something? Now’s the time to add it! Just remember, you can always add, you however can NOT remove. So, add little by little until your sauce is perfected.
Turn your roaster oven down to MINIMUM and leave it to sit for 12 hours. This allows the dried herbs to bloom and the flavors to blend while the sauce thickens. Continue to stir and test again!
- Pro tip: Unsure if your sauce is thick enough? Whip up a few spaghetti noodles to test your sauce on. Does it stick? If not, try letting your sauce thicken down longer or try adding a can of tomato paste to thicken.
Now you have the secret to my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. Try using this delicious sauce to serve over roasted spaghetti squash for an alternative healthy dinner everyone enjoys.
Like this post!? Share it with your friends and family and pin for later! Want to learn how to can your freshly made Spaghetti Sauce? Hop on over to my blog: STRESS FREE Guide to Can Spaghetti Sauce, No Peeling!: here.
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