 |  |  |
 YIKES! neighbor left this on my porch |  peppers, onions, cukes ready to roast |  after roasting |  tomatoes started on stove |  roasted veggies added to tomatoes |
 stir after cool ~ ready to pulse |  pulsed thick |  1 to freeze |  healthy pasta |  sauce & pasta in pot |
My neighbor left a plethora of fresh produce on my front porch, so I decided to make a Garden Marinara Sauce. But since I had so many peppers and cucumbers, I thought I'd roast them separately while the fresh tomatoes were simmering ~ and add them later. (all while also made Easy Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles too!). Measurements are what they are (since I don't measure very much) and I used what I had...don't worry about it.
Homemade ROASTED Fresh GARDEN MARINARA SAUCE
I started with 4 big beefsteak tomatoes (cut into pieces) ~ about 8 small Romas (cut in half) and a handful of cherry tomatoes ...
Those went into a large saucepan (or small Dutch oven) with about 1/2 cup red wine ~ 2 TB Balsamic vinegar ~ 1 heaping TB minced garlic ~ 1 tsp. sugar (necessary to counteract the acidity in the tomatoes) ~ about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. I put it on high simmer (uncovered) and just let it go (coming back to stir when I remembered)
Now, on to the ROASTED VEGGIES ... Put the oven on 425 and covered a rimmed sheet pan with foil (and sprayed that with non-stick spray). I used: 1 whole white onion (cut into big chunks) ~ 1 large cucumber (cut in half, then into quarters and sliced off the seeds ~ then into chunks) ~ a couple of Poblano Peppers (seeded & cut into chunks) ~ a couple of red jalapeno peppers (seeded! & cut into pieces) ~ some small bell peppers (seeded & cut into chunks) .... and whatever else you might have around!
Doing one veggie at a time ~ I put them into a baggie and sprinkled with some olive oil & HERBS (dried rosemary, oregano & basil) plus some Kosher salt & pepper. Close the baggie tight ~ shake and then smoosh it around so everything is coated and put it on the prepared pan. On to the next veggie, adding more of each (if you need it) until all the veggies are on the pan. Roast for 25-30 minutes ~ then take the pan out and let it cool for a few minutes. I waited about 1/2 hour before adding those to the tomatoes on the stove.
So, after everything is just simmering away on the stove for about 3 hours ~ take it off the burner and let it cool for 20-30 minutes. Then put it (in batches) into your food processor and pulse. You can do it as chunky or smooth as you like. ** If you end up with more sauce than you need, you can put the leftover into a freezer baggie (label it) and freeze for another meal (because that's the only way this sauce will ever taste exactly alike a second time ~ haha)
*** so that you don't think I'm a super strict, health nut ~ I don't mind using gluten-free spaghetti so that we can "spend" the gluten we "saved" on Bavarian filled donuts later!
Homemade ROASTED Fresh GARDEN MARINARA SAUCE
I started with 4 big beefsteak tomatoes (cut into pieces) ~ about 8 small Romas (cut in half) and a handful of cherry tomatoes ...
Those went into a large saucepan (or small Dutch oven) with about 1/2 cup red wine ~ 2 TB Balsamic vinegar ~ 1 heaping TB minced garlic ~ 1 tsp. sugar (necessary to counteract the acidity in the tomatoes) ~ about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. I put it on high simmer (uncovered) and just let it go (coming back to stir when I remembered)
Now, on to the ROASTED VEGGIES ... Put the oven on 425 and covered a rimmed sheet pan with foil (and sprayed that with non-stick spray). I used: 1 whole white onion (cut into big chunks) ~ 1 large cucumber (cut in half, then into quarters and sliced off the seeds ~ then into chunks) ~ a couple of Poblano Peppers (seeded & cut into chunks) ~ a couple of red jalapeno peppers (seeded! & cut into pieces) ~ some small bell peppers (seeded & cut into chunks) .... and whatever else you might have around!
Doing one veggie at a time ~ I put them into a baggie and sprinkled with some olive oil & HERBS (dried rosemary, oregano & basil) plus some Kosher salt & pepper. Close the baggie tight ~ shake and then smoosh it around so everything is coated and put it on the prepared pan. On to the next veggie, adding more of each (if you need it) until all the veggies are on the pan. Roast for 25-30 minutes ~ then take the pan out and let it cool for a few minutes. I waited about 1/2 hour before adding those to the tomatoes on the stove.
So, after everything is just simmering away on the stove for about 3 hours ~ take it off the burner and let it cool for 20-30 minutes. Then put it (in batches) into your food processor and pulse. You can do it as chunky or smooth as you like. ** If you end up with more sauce than you need, you can put the leftover into a freezer baggie (label it) and freeze for another meal (because that's the only way this sauce will ever taste exactly alike a second time ~ haha)
*** so that you don't think I'm a super strict, health nut ~ I don't mind using gluten-free spaghetti so that we can "spend" the gluten we "saved" on Bavarian filled donuts later!
RSS Feed
