Holy Tomatoes!

So, we planted a lot of tomatoes. We are picking and eating a lot of tomatoes. I always plant a tomato called Principe Borghese.
It is a small roma that makes excellent dried tomatoes as well as lovely sauce and is a very heavy producer. I decided to make a roasted tomato passata. Passata is just a basic cooked tomato sauce and can be used in recipes or as a pizza or pasta sauce. I did a little reading and came up with my version of a simple passata. Not really a recipe, more of a set of guidelines.

roma tomatoes, washed and stems removed (I had two cookie sheets full of tomatoes)
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
about 1 tsp. sea salt
a bunch of grinds of fresh pepper
about 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

Line two cookies sheets with parchment or foil. Fill each with tomatoes.

I didn't cut my tomatoes since they are the size of a large cherry tomato but if you have regular romas, slice them in half. Divide remaining ingredients between pans and toss gently, just so the tomatoes are all coated with the oil.

Roast them in the oven at 350F for about an hour. The skins will be shriveled and the tomatoes will be very soft. The onions and garlic should be very soft too.
Now puree the whole lot. I used an immersion blender, but a blender, food processor or food mill would work as well. Adjust seasoning.

At this point I added a generous 1/2 cup of fresh basil cut in very thin strips (chiffonade), packaged it in containers and froze it.
I thought it was very delicious!
I have been sewing a bunch and may actually get around to sharing some new things with you all. I hope you all have a glorious weekend! xo