Tomato Sauce

I was given some homegrown tomatoes by my in-laws and have a ton of basil in my garden, so I thought it was time to make some tomato sauce. I tweaked an Alton Brown recipe since the reviews mentioned it having something missing from the flavor, and adding some extra garlic and basil seems to have done the trick.

I also kept the onion, garlic, and herbs in larger chunks in order for them not to burn since they were in the oven for a long time. I did end up taking everything out a little earlier than the recipe called for, but I think that had a lot to do with the fact that my oven seems to be cooking a little hotter these days (it's 24 years old and definitely coming to the end of its life).

I used it in the Easy Meatless Manicotti recipe, and it really did pump up the flavors.

Tomato Sauce

20 tomatoes, halved and seeded
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, quartered
1 tablespoon oregano leaves
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 cup white wine
20 basil leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans place tomato halves cut side up. Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, and herbs. Bake tomatoes for 2 hours. Check the tomatoes after 1 hour and turn down the heat if they seem to be cooking too quickly. Then turn the oven to 400°F and bake another 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and process tomatoes through a food mill on medium dye setting over a small saucepan (or pulse in a food processor). Add white wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Add chopped basil in the last 2 minutes of cooking.