Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce

My tomatoes are out of control this summer! No joke, they are beginning to take over the entire patio. I have so many I can’t give them away or eat them fast enough so I’ve been making sauce. Sauce is a great way to preserve your fresh tomatoes and not let them go to waste. In fact, tomatoes are actually better for you when they are cooked. Little fun fact, cooking a tomato releases lycopene which does a body good.

Ingredients:

• 8 to 10 garden tomatoes (NOT STORE BOUGHT ONES!)

• 1/2 onion, chopped

• 3 tbls EVOO

• 1 bay leaf

• 6 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tsp fresh basil

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 carrot peeled and chopped

• 4 mushrooms, chopped

• pinch of red pepper

• salt and pepper to taste

• pinch of sugar

• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Boil a pot of water and black tomatoes for 45 seconds to remove skins. Remove the skins and seeds and cut into quarters. They don’t have to be chopped too much because they will cook down.

2. Dump out the water and put a little EVOO into the bottom of the pot. Throw in your onion and garlic, saute on medium heat until the onion is transparent.

3. Throw in the tomatoes, carrot (The carrot helps to pull out the acidity so the sauce is easier on your tummy.), red pepper and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil and cook on hard simmer for half an hour.

4. Add basil, oregano, S & P, a little sugar (adjust to taste… DON’T FORGET TO BLOW ON YOUR SPOON!). Hard simmer for another half an hour. The liquid should’ve boiled down and reduced by about half.

5. Stir in balsamic vinegar.

6. I like my sauce to have an even consistency so I throw mine in the blender, but if this isn’t your style you can skip this step.

7. Waa laa! Serve over pasta, use a pizza sauce, whatever you want.

Remember that your sauce will be the color of your tomatoes so if you’re using an assortment (such as heirlooms) it might not look like you expect it to…. but it will be so delicious! Don’t add too much sugar, just enough to balance the acidity, remember we still want our sauce to taste like the fresh tomatoes.

#sauces #tomato