There are two ways you can do this home made tomato sauce. For a fresh summer flavor, use the fresh tomatoes and roast them. For an earthy, hearty sauce that’s great for winter, replace the fresh tomatoes with diced canned tomatoes and stewed tomatoes (one jar of each).

No matter which method you choose, the process always starts with roasting some healthy vegetables (to later puree) that will give the sauce thickness, body and flavour.

Roasted Veggies for Puree

– 2 medium yellow onions

– 2 peppers (red, yellow, green or orange)

– 2 carrots

– 3 celery stalks

– Salt & Pepper

Slice the vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Place the vegetables in large roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 40-50 minutes (until vegetables are very soft and blistered).

Remove the pan from oven and let the vegetables cool. Puree in a food processer or blender until it becomes a fine paste.

If you are using roasted tomatoes, you can roast these in a separate pan at the same time. See next step for roasted tomatoes.

Roasted Tomatoes (Option 1 for sauce base)

– 15 large Roma tomatoes

– Salt/Pepper

– Olive Oil

– 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

– Oregano

Slice the tomatoes into 1 inch chunks and place in a baking dish. Add salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Toss tomatoes until covered. Place baking dish in a 400 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (until tomatoes are super soft and have lost some of their juices). The tomatoes will be done a little earlier than the roasted vegetables so keep an eye on them.

Once they are done, remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Once cooled, purée the roasted tomatoes in a food processor until smooth. Place in a deep pot with the puréed vegetables and cook over medium-low heat until simmering.

Diced and Stewed Tomatoes (Option 2 for sauce base)

Cook the diced canned tomatoes in a deep pot over medium heat. Once they start bubbling, use a potato masher to crush them while they cook. Once some of the liquid has evaporated, add the stewed tomatoes. Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir.

Let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Let the sauce cool, and purée in a food processer or with an immersion blender.

Follow the next steps for both sauce methods:

Grate 1 garlic clove and add to the pot of tomato sauce with the vegetable puree. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. If you have it on hand, add a Parmesan rind to the sauce (but make sure to remove it at the end).

Let the sauce simmer until it is thickened roughly 20 minutes. Add chopped fresh herbs (Thyme, parsley and basil are my favourites) and remove from heat. Let cool completely and store in an air tight container. You can double this recipe and freeze the extra sauce in mason jars.