Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce is the easy, quick way to make fresh sauce in a flash. It’s perfect for tomato season and year round.
I may be modern day farm girl, but I grew up in the urban jungle of the Bronx, in a Jewish-Italian neighborhood a stone’s throw from little Italy. Most of my neighbors were old school Italian; they all had thick accents….and they all grew tomatoes….specifically Tony. Tony, with his long white pony tail and towering physique. He grew the most brilliant roses and tomatoes. I won’t get into the particulars of what growing roses and tomatoes truly means in the Bronx, however I will say, as a child, I remember him saving a warm smile for me, being invited into his garden, and bequeathing me a flower or two, or a tomato.
Even in our small city yard, my mother grew a few tomato plants. This was as close to home grown as we city goers got. This was my introduction to garden-to-table food. My mother’s few humble tomato plants were precious. Those few fresh tomatoes, not ravaged by the squirrels, were celebrated and we enjoyed every bite.
When life gives you all those cherry tomatoes…
Now, on my own homestead, our vegetable garden is vast, but I still champion tomatoes, more specifically cherry tomatoes. Rows and rows of cherry tomatoes, trellised on metal cow panels. The vines are thick and coiled, dripping with bunches of cherry tomatoes. When you pick them, your fingers become green and fragrant from the vines. The smell is sweet, intense, and intoxicating. Every evening my children run out with their baskets to pick cherry tomatoes. They eat as many as they pick. But that’s ok, cherry tomatoes are so plentiful and the baskets still come into the kitchen overflowing.
Fresh tomato sauce is a great source of pride for Italians. Every Nonna would dutifully blanch and peel baskets of tomatoes; carefully tending a huge simmering pot of sauce. It’s a beautiful scene.
But I am not Nonna.
In the summer months, I make jars upon jars of sauce with my own tomatoes. But I do it my way. Still from scratch…but the time savvy way that’s so delicious you’d swear Nonna simmered it all day.
The secret to my sauce?
Cherry tomatoes.
My husband grows rows upon rows of cherry tomatoes, trellised high on cow panels because he knows cherry tomatoes are my favorite. My children eat them straight off the vine. They are vibrant in salads, and they make the most incredible, fast tomato sauce. Cherry tomatoes have less juice and more flesh, perfect for saucing. Their skins are tender, so there’s no need to blanching and peeling. Use this sauce for pasta, lasagna, meatballs…whatever your heart desires. It also makes a fantastic base for your next tomato soup!
I freeze my sauce instead of canning because it’s really fast and easy. Freeze them in large deli containers. I don’t need to worry about anything.
Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce will be the only sauce recipe you’ll ever use!
When our cherry tomato harvest is at its height, I freeze batches upon batches of Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce. Years ago, I created a tomato sauce recipe that eliminated blanching, peeling, and tending. This is the easiest sauce you will make…all you need is a rimmed baking sheet and a good blender. The key to this recipe is roasting the tomatoes and shallots; creating a sauce that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours..in under an hour. The addition of the balsamic vinegar is my hidden hint of umami that counters the acidity from the tomatoes; adding a velvety finish to the sauce. Blending in fresh basil at the end yields a vibrant, bright note. Toss this sauce in pasta and your favorite cheese for a fast dinner, or use it as the base for a hearty bolognese (try this sauce for my Everyday Red Lentil Bolognese.) My roasted cherry tomato sauce also makes an incredible tomato soup. I encourage you to double…even triple….this recipe and freeze it for late January; when the days are dark and we could all use a little summer on our plates.
Honestly, I don’t want to do it like Nonna, I don’t want to spend hours over this sauce. I want to make it, freeze it, and get in and out of the kitchen. I hope Nonna…and Tony understand.
Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 lb cherry tomatoes washed
- 2 cups shallots peeled, cut in half and cut into 1½ inch slices (roughly 4 larger shallots)
- 4 tb balsamic vinegar
- 2 tb extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 5-6 small garlic cloves skin on
- ¼ cup basil leaves
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven 415 (convection roast preferable).
- On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the cherry tomatoes, shallots, and garlic with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and kosher salt. Spread everything out evenly so the vegetables aren’t crowded.
- Roast for 25 minutes, or until the cherry tomatoes have popped, their skins have begun to separate from their flesh, the shallots have browned, and the garlic is soft.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the vegetables to cool completely.
- Remove the garlic and set aside.
- Spoon the cherry tomatoes and shallots into the pitcher of a high speed blender. It’s ok to leave some of the juice on the tray, we want the sauce to blend up thick.
- Remove the garlic from their skins and add the garlic into the blender.
- Add the fresh basil leaves and the sugar to the blender.
- Blend on high until the sauce is completely combined and smooth.
- Pour into jars. This sauce can keep five days in the fridge or freeze for future use.
I first published pieces from this article and this recipe in Whisk by Ami Magazine.
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