Making Marinara on a Monday

Came home from a fabulous week at the beach (I'll blog about it and post pics later) to find bunches and bunches of tomatoes ready to be picked. 

School starts in THREE SHORT DAYS which means Crockpot meals and make-ahead-casseroles will soon be back on the menu.  I always have jarred spaghetti sauce on hand as well as canned tomatoes but nothing beats using sauce made from my own garden.

I found this recipe online last year and I altered it a bit to fit our family's tastes. 

Fresh Marinara

Makes 3 quarts 

(I got about 5 cups with amounts in italics – I also added a jar of tomato paste at the end)

(3.5) 15 pounds fresh Roma tomatoes

(2tsp) 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

(1/2) 2 yellow onions 

(2) 8 cloves garlic 

(1/2) 2 cups dry white wine 

(to taste) 1 large bunch fresh basil 

(to taste) 1 bunch fresh (oregano) parsley 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash tomatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place tomatoes cut-side-down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. 

I didn't have enough Roma tomatoes that were ripe so we supplemented with 3 regular and some cherry tomatoes. (the cherry tomatoes are supposed to be that color - for some reason my husband bought "black cherry tomatoes" for our garden this year)

Roast for 10 minutes. Cool and peel the skins off and discard. Place peeled tomatoes in a large bowl. Crush with clean hands, or chop tomatoes. Discard any tough stems. 

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add white wine and simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off. Add the tomatoes and simmer until reduced by one third to one half. Stir in basil and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Blend with an immersion blender.

This batch seemed a little runny and a little too sweet so I added a jar of tomato paste at the end. 

Cool and freeze any extra. If freezing in canning jars, be sure to leave at least 1" of headroom, as the sauce will expand in the freezer.  (I freeze mine in 1 gallon ziploc bags)

I divided the sauce into two freezer bags and I will freeze them laying flat.  Then when I need them I can move them to the refrigerator the day before to start them thawing or float the bag in hot water to loosen it up enough to get it out of the bag and in to a Crockpot.  I have used it as spaghetti sauce putting sauce that is partially thawed in my Crockpot along with frozen Italian meatballs and letting it thaw and simmer all day.  I have also used it in make ahead casseroles in place of canned tomatoes.