I heard a segment on one of the NPR shows describing how to make roasted tomato sauce using the less-than-perfect tomatoes from your garden. They encourage using cracked, bruised tomatoes, mixing types, as long as the innards are good. Roasting tomatoes for sauce produces a dense sauce full of tomato essence: tomatoey, sweet,and strong, with just a hint of that umami flavor that comes from sun-dried tomatoes. We loved it.

4 pounds of tomatoes made just enough for dinner for the two of us, plus a little left over for one lunch. Double it and freeze any that's left for another meal sometime.


[just before it goes in the oven]
4 pounds tomatoes, any type (Romas pictured here)
1 onion, coarsely chopped
~1/4 c fresh herb of choice, chopped, or smaller amount of dried equivalent
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
~1/8 c olive oil