Pasta is a weekly staple for many.  It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s delicious.

While I usually keep zip lock bags of my basic tomato pasta sauce in the freezer on hand for quick and easy weekday meals, I felt like something different.  While browsing recipes online, I came across a recipe for roasted tomato pasta sauce on Martha Stewart.  A recipe from the doyenne of American cooking, it had to be good, right?  And, thankfully, it was.

This sauce couldn’t be easier.  Roast the vegetables, peel the skins off the tomato (assuming you want to), and blend the sauce.  There you have it – roasted tomato pasta sauce.

The sauce is delicious, a great change from your regular tomato pasta sauce, and has a slight sweetness, thanks to the roasted carrot. Better still you can make up a large batch and use a portion immediately and freeze the rest.

This is only the second of Martha’s recipes I have tried, but both have been a success.  Are you a fan of Martha Stewart’s recipes?  What are your favourite Martha recipes?

 

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

 

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Note: I halved the original recipe

Ingredients:

• 600g (1.5 pounds) of tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 carrot, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220 Celsius (425 Fahrenheit).
2. Line a baking tray with grease proof baking paper and place the tomato, garlic, onion and carrot in a baking tray and coat with the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to ensure everything is coated well.
3. Turn the tomatoes over so that the cut side of  the tomato is facing down.
4. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the vegetables are tender.   If vegetables begin to brown too quickly, push them toward the centre of the sheet.
5. Allow the vegetables to cool slightly, then peel the skin off the tomato and discard.
6. Transfer the vegetables and chopped basil to a blender and blend until the mixture is combined but not completely smooth.
7. Add to cooked pasta and either refrigerate the remainder up to 1 week, or freeze up to 3 months.