New Jersey Tomato Sauce Recipe

We always end up with too many ripe tomatoes this time of year! My husband and I grow our organic tomatoes from seed, and once the seedlings sprout, I end up with a lot of plants. This year, we decided to just make more room in the garden and plant them all! This was a very good year for tomato growing, and here in New Jersey, the art of tomato growing is a very serious business. The tomatoes are so delicious that people eat tomato sandwiches, which consist of a super-ripened, sliced beefsteak tomato on bread with a bit of mayonnaise. It is so good! It is the end of the season, and they all seem to ripen mostly in August and September.

After enjoying many delicious tomatoes in salad and on sandwiches and giving them to family and friends, we then make batches of fresh sauce. The smell of the sauce cooking is amazing! I have been using the easiest, no-fuss way to make a fresh sauce with garden tomatoes. I don’t always have a lot of extra time and need to make things quickly before the tomatoes start to turn.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes fresh from the garden
Garlic Cloves (chopped)
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Dried Oregano
Olive Oil
Basil (fresh, chopped)

Directions:
1. Slice up your tomatoes into chunks and lay them in a large rectangular roasting pan.
2. Add some chopped garlic cloves, salt, ground black pepper, and dried oregano to taste. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top.
3. Roast the pan of tomatoes in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour or until the tomatoes begin to soften and liquefy.
4. After an hour, take the pan out of the oven, stir in some fresh, chopped basil, and let the mixture cool for a while.
5. After it has cooled, put the mixture into a blender and pulse it about three or four times. By pulsing in the blender, you won’t have to worry about the tomato peels in the sauce.
6. Enjoy on spaghetti, pizza, or whatever your hungry heart desires! It comes out with a great consistency without the tedious chore of peeling.

This recipe makes the best fresh sauce, and I store the extra sauce in zip locks bags and place them in the freezer. That way, we can enjoy the best sauce all winter long!

Author: Kira Yustak
Where I Garden: Long Branch, New Jersey
Why I Garden: I started gardening because I wanted to provide more organic foods for my family. Also, home grown produce always tastes better!
I am an artist, fine art painter, photographer, art teacher, wife, and mother to a six year old son. After living in New York City for many years, I moved to the Jersey Shore in a house with room to grow things! I wanted to get back in touch with the natural, earthy side of everything. My husband and I started planting organic strawberries and organic blueberries for my son. Those are some of his favorite foods, and we wanted to insure he was eating organically without so many pesticides. Backyard gardening is an adventure I am returning to after growing up in Pennsylvania with a grandfather as an avid gardener! I often find inspiration for my painting from the beautiful things I grow, and the insects and wildlife in my garden!
www.kirayustak.com