Roasted Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

The local café kitchen window (photo in the previous posting)grabbed my attention with the fresh herbs growing in the planter box, the luscious bowl of fresh tomatoes sitting in the open window and the colander hanging, ready at a moments notice to hold freshly washed produce as the cleansing water slowly dripped off. Summer time and plates of fresh sliced tomatoes always go together.

When I lived in Italy the tomatoes had flavour and colour that I have not found anywhere else. So red and juicy, to be eaten just as they were. Slice them onto a plate, fan them out, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and throw on some fresh basil leaves - oh so sweet and delectable! Travelling in Bulgaria several times, the shopska salad, made from fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, thinly sliced onions and feta cheese, was always cool, refreshing, and delicious. One never got tired of being presented with this simple salad.

Our tomato plants are currently laden with tomatoes: a hanging basket with cherry tomatoes, a roma tomato plant and one beefsteak plant. Unfortunately they are taking their time ripening so we have not been able to enjoy this fresh produce just yet. Soon some fried green tomatoes might end up along with our brunch omelette!

A plate of freshly picked tomatoes was in my line of vision and something for our evening meal was also on my radar so the idea of roasted tomato pasta sauce and spaghetti was what came out of it. The roasting of the tomatoes brings out their sugar and a deeper flavour for this sauce. Fresh tomato pasta sauce does not have the tang or the acid taste that using tinned tomato sauce can give. I was actually making this in the kitchen at work for our dinner so I didn’t have a camera ready to photograph it for this posting. So you will have to use the images your memory holds of steaming, heaped plates of pasta!

Roasted Tomato Spaghetti Sauce:

6 fresh good sized tomatoes (remove the stem core and then quarter them)
6 cloves of garlic (leave the skin on)
5 or 6 stems of fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon of dry oregano)
3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 - 2 teaspoons sea salt
Heat oven to 350F

Also:
½ cup red wine (if you like)
1 cup small cubed pancetta
Touch of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar

Gently toss the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, balsamic and oregano together and place on baking pan, put into the oven for 45 minutes.

When the tomatoes are done, gently squeeze the garlic out of the skins. It will be a bit caramelized which is perfect!

Put everything into your blender, including all the juices and the oil, and blitz it for just a moment. It won’t be really smooth - you don’t want it to be.

I just love pancetta in my spaghetti sauce so I then saute the cubed pancetta in a little bit of olive oil until it is getting lightly browned. This Italian bacon has a very unique flavour to add to your sauce. Add in your pureed roasted tomato and garlic mixture and add the red wine and the touch of sugar. Simmer this at a very low heat for about 20 minutes. Using a good size fry pan is best.

Cook up your spaghetti pasta (Garofalo brand is my favourite). When the pasta is ready, drain it (don’t rinse it) and put it into the sauce and toss it all together.

Add grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese.

Buon appetito!