This is a perfect way to use up tomatoes from your summer garden crop. Thanks to my dad and uncle, I had plenty of green and red tomatoes to use for this sauce! This was my first time making tomato sauce completely from scratch - without the canned tomatoes. It tasted so fresh and was worth the wait!
Time: 8 hours
Ingredients:
- 12 whole tomatoes (I used frozen tomatoes green and red tomatoes that I let defrost overnight in the fridge, makes them so easy to peel!)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn into smaller pieces
- I handful fresh thyme leaves (I used broad-leaf thyme)
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 garlic bulb
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Recipe:
- Wash and peel the tomatoes. If they are frozen from earlier in the summer, it helps to boil them for 5 minutes so the skin peels off easier. After they're peeled, set them aside.
- Slice the edge of the garlic bulb (skin on) so that the tops of each glove are exposed. Coat with olive oil and wrap in foil - roast on 425 for 40 mins.
- Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil and diced onions in a large pot on medium heat. Mix around until the onion is opaque.
- Add the tomatoes, basil, thyme, oregano, sugar, crushed red pepper, chili powder, salt and black pepper. Mix until combined.
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil for about 10 mins on medium-high heat.
- Lower the heat, remove the cover, and stir. The mixture will start thickening - looking almost like salsa rather than a sauce.
- Remove the garlic from the foil paper and squeeze the softened cloves into the pot. Mix around, the garlic will melt.
- Add the cup of water, stir, and recover the pot. Leave the heat on a low simmer.
- Keep checking the sauce and stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn. If it has a lot of chunks, use an immersion blender. Leave it on the stove for 3-6 hours (or longer if you have the time!)
Depending on how ripe the tomatoes were, you may need to add a little more sugar or a little more salt after tasting it. If you prefer a spicier sauce, you can add more crushed red peppers.
Serve over warm pasta or use as a dipping sauce for breads!
GREAT for my Meatless Mondays!
Eggplant Parmesan is vegetarian, but most recipes require you to use egg to coat the eggplant before adding bread crumbs. I don't eat meat or eggs on Mondays so I thought up this recipe. Enjoy!
Time: 1.5 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 log herbed goat cheese
- About 3 tablespoons salt
- 1 bottle marinara sauce
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil or as needed to coat the pan
- 1 cup bread crumbs (you can use flavored or unflavored - I used Italian flavored). You can also sub regular bread crumbs with Panko
- 1 tablespoon crushed red peppers
- Black pepper to taste
Recipe:
- Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds - salt both sides and let them sit for 5 mins (so the salt absorbs some of the moisture, and doesn't make your eggplant brown or soggy)
- Next, coat the bottom of a non-stick skillet with olive oil, amount will vary based on how big your pan is. Get the oil to medium heat.
- Fry each eggplant round in the olive oil for about 1-2 mins on each side. You want the cooking to start, but not completely cooked through.
- While the eggplant is still hot, lay them out on a plate or napkin and drop about 1 teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon of goat cheese on top so it can melt - then spread evenly.
- After the goat cheese is spread on one side, immediately coat with breadcrumbs.
- Turn each round over and spread the other side with goat cheese, coat it with breadcrumbs as well.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Place the coated eggplant rounds back into the skillet and fry them until they are golden brown on both sides. You may need to add more olive oil to the pan before this step.
- Lay eggplant rounds side by side into your baking pan.
- Take your 3 cloves of garlic, chop them up and add them to a sauce pan or pot with a little olive oil.
- After the garlic is golden brown, add marinara sauce, black pepper and crushed red pepper.
- Let this mixture simmer for about 10 mins then pour over your eggplant.
- Sprinkle your grated Parmesan cheese on top of this. Bake on 350 for about 15 - 20 mins or until cheese is melted.
- Serve hot & enjoy :)
Photo credits to Anand Bahadur, JR: https://www.facebook.com/abpdphotography
Another serving suggestion: If you don't have marinara sauce on hand, you can also serve the eggplant fried in goat cheese & breadcrumbs as an appetizer or snack! Just add some additional seasoning in the breadcrumb mixture (i.e. some dried oregano or basil).
