Lazy Summer Sunday Arvo - Ha! (Part 2)

So after I was finished with my plums around mid-day, I then sat and peered intently at the tomatoes on the windowsill, counter and table. 

I carefully measured out 1 kg of tomatoes and gleefully chuckled to myself.  "I've made a significant dent!  Ha, take THAT!"  Just out of curiosity, I wandered outside with my handy basket to relieve the plants of the one or two ripe ones that I knew would be waiting for me.  I stood there, staring with utter disbelief and more than a little despair.  I went back inside with over a kilo of freshly picked tomatoes.  So much for my dent!

I decided to make pasta sauce, as I had cleared a little space in the freezer.  Since I preserved tomatoes yesterday (no post on that.  not quite sure how they turned out yet), I simply couldn't bear the idea of blanching and peeling more tomatoes today, so I cut them in half and tossed them on a tray.  Then inspiration struck...

I quartered 2 onions and nestled some sprigs of thyme and some bay leaves among the veggies.  I drizzled the whole thing with olive oil and sprinkled it with mixed herbs and coarsely ground salt.

I love beautiful looking food - it looked so pretty.  I popped it in the oven at 150 Celsius for about an hour.

After I did a few rounds of my knitting, I went outside and picked a bunch of basil and oregano.  I chopped it up and left it in a bowl, ready to use.

After an hour in the oven - it smelled incredible!

Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes and onions (throw out the herbs) and put them in a food processor and whizz up until it's a consistency you like for pasta sauce.

In another pan, with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, saute some crushed garlic until it's fragrant.

Mix in whizzed sauce and chopped herbs.  Add 2 tbsp of tomato paste and the secret ingredients - a couple of glugs of red wine and of Worcester sauce (the sauce gives it that little something that it needed to take away the tartness of the tomatoes.)  Season to taste with salt + pepper.

Simmer for about 20 minutes to thicken it.  I could have let it simmer longer, but I wanted it to be a little bit liquidy, as I planned to freeze it.  It is also imperative that you test it with fresh bread.  Do not burn your tongue (as I may have.)

Put in container and let cool.  All ready to freeze for up to 4 months.

It.  Tastes.  Amazing.  I figure that's about 2 really generous servings, so it works out to about 4 Weight Watchers ProPoints.

When I use it for pasta, I'll probably throw in some spinach, mushrooms and mince meat to bulk it up a bit (the meat will add to the points value though.)

As I have said many times, I've got an abundance of tomatoes, so I've already planned for the next time I make it - I will roast it with a head of garlic (wrapping the cloves in tin foil so they don't stew in the juices that come out of the veges) and a red capsicum (I was a bit disappointed to find that I did have one in the fridge that I could have used today.)  Yum!

I've already had dinner tonight, but the thought of my pasta sauce is making my tummy rumble again!