After Work No-Work Roasted Tomato Sauce


Unless they're leaking all over the floor or walking on their own, I reckon never, ever walk past a pack of marked-down tomatoes. They're usually perfectly ripe for cooking and are just crying for love and basil and pasta ... what a shame if they ended up in a bin.

Now, if you're thinking - yeah right, but who has time to cook up a tomato sauce after work? The key, my dear, is in the roasting. We wash, we cut, we mix and then ... we get to do something else for 40 min. Play with the kids, do some yoga, fold the laundry, whatever. All because we let the oven do the work for us. How good is that?


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After Work No-Work Roasted Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 kg (about 2 1/2 lbs) ripe tomatoes, halved
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 med red onion, diced
1 tsp dried basil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt

+4 serves of pasta

*As always, try to use organic ingredients when you can.

1. Preheat the oven to 160C.

2. Toss everything into a roasting pan and mix well.

3. Roast for about 40 min until the tomatoes are mushy under your fork. Turn off the oven and leave them to gradually cool a bit, then mash them (or you could put them in a blender)

4. Boil 4 serves of pasta according to the packet directions (or make your own ...), mix through a hearty portion of the tomato sauce and grate parmesan over top to taste.

5. Serve with a glass of vino and a crispy green salad and some good company.

* Note - real chefs would encourage you to take the skins and seeds out, but I find I don't have time for that. If your sauce comes out a little runny (because your tomatoes were very juicy), just add a Tbs of tomato paste. And just make sure you mash/blend/chop the skins well.


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How much did this cost me?

All of my ingredients were organic. I got a 1kg bag of organic tomatoes for $2 - they were marked down, and the red onion was a donation from some friends who had a surplus. The olive oil cost me around $0.60 and the herbs and vinegar would've cost less than $0.40. So, a total of $3 for my quick-roasted tomato sauce.

Enjoy!
Amanda xx

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