It is finally home garden harvest time! After all the daily hard work that goes into keeping a garden during summer, August and September seem to be the times that make everything worth it. Not to mention, it is so exciting to see and eat the literal fruits of your labors.
Sadly, this is the first year in quite some time that I haven’t had a garden. (Ironically, I think many people would say the complete opposite this year!) Because we moved during the beginning of the summer, it was way too hot to plant a garden in our new home’s backyard once we were all settled in. My parents planted a large garden this year, though, and they have been sharing their plentiful harvests with us!
I have a series of recipes related to fresh produce in the works for the coming weeks, and this week is focused on tomatoes. Tomatoes all seem to get ripe at exactly the same time… meaning you end up with a ridiculously huge amount needing to be eaten within days. This happened to me the last few years in my garden, and my parents also had a ton that they shared with us recently too.
Having a gigantic crop of tomatoes a few years ago inspired me to learn how to make my own marinara sauce. While I did need to use up so many tomatoes at once, it was also to prove I could figure it out to myself. To be completely honest, homemade tomato sauce has always been on my “must master” list of recipes. I blame it on watching too much Food Network!
My recipe uses Roma tomatoes because they hold up nicely in this sauce, but feel free to try other tomatoes too. The seasoning and sauce thickness may change quite a bit, however. Roasting the tomatoes and onions also adds an amazing depth of flavor – it is incredibly addicting!
The sauce provides a perfect base for any pasta dish, meatballs, or even pizza. Once you try garden-fresh marinara, it may be hard to use the store-bought varieties again! I hope you love this as much as my family does!
Garden-Fresh Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 cups Roma tomatoes, washed and quartered
- ⅓ medium onion, chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp dried garlic
Instructions
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Arrange the tomatoes and onions on the prepared baking sheet – be sure everything is spread out in a single layer.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes and onions with the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried basil.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and set the oven to broil.
- Allow the tomatoes and onions to broil until the edges are beginning to turn dark brown, or 20 to 30 minutes. Check the oven often, as this can easily burn if not watched closely.
- Once ready, turn the oven off and remove the baking sheet from the oven.
- Allow the tomatoes and onions to cool. (You can also put them in a bowl and place them in the fridge for a few hours until you are ready to go to the next step that day.)
- Place the tomatoes and onions in a blender, being sure to add the seasonings and juices left in the baking dish.
- Add the lid to the blender and pulse the contents on "liquify" until everything is well-blended and smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add the Italian seasoning, olive oil, and dried garlic. Stir well to combine completely.
- Place a lid on the saucepan and simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes.
- Serve over pasta, with meatballs, or even as a pizza sauce.
