I love this easy tomato sauce and try to can some each fall. 

Fortunately, I have learned from 3 full years of having a garden, that it is important for me to plant 4+ Roma tomato plants in our garden.

As a result, I was able to can a whopping 7 pint Mason jars!  (I 4x’ed the below recipe.)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 1/2 lb of ripe Roma tomatoes, diced
• salt to taste
• 12-16 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• 1 lb whole wheat pasta

Saute olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and season with salt.  Raise the heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, and cook briskly, stirring often, until the tomatoes break down and form a sauce (about 15 minutes).  Add a little water if the sauce becomes too thick.  Pass the sauce through a food mill or puree in a food processor.  (To be honest, I often leave the sauce chunky.)  Return to the pan and add the basil.  Simmer gently for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Serve over whole wheat pasta.

After reading my recipe, I discovered that I often complicate the process.  You don’t have to do what I am about to tell you.  But maybe keep in it mind when a recipe tells you to take the skin off of your tomato.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Take your red fruit (yes, it is a fruit because it has a seed!) and gently slice an X at the base of the tomato.  You want to just break the tomato’s skin. 

Drop the tomato into the boiling water for 10-30 seconds.  With a spoon, rescue your tomato from the whirlpool and allow to cool.  The skin of the tomato should peel right off.

Voila!  A peeled tomato.  Don’t forget to put the skin in the compost pile!

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