Roasted Tomato Sauce

I love the rich taste of this tomato sauce which is due to the roasting process and the small amount of sugar used. The sauce is very versatile and can be varied by the addition of other ingredients such as fresh chopped basil, luscious Kalamata olives or capers. This recipe was based on a recipe found on the Australian website, www.Taste.com.au. The recipe can be doubled, if required, and frozen.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6-8
• Yields: 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1  kg red ripe tomato, halved and cored
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1  brown onion, chopped
• 2  garlic cloves, crushed
• 1  tablespoon tomato paste
• 1  teaspoon sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius. Place tomatoes, cut side up on large roasting trays. Drizzle with 2 tblspns olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle sparingly with sugar to assist caramellisation Bake in preheated oven 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan and saute the chopped onions and garlic until onion begins to brown (approx. 10 minutes).
3. Add the cooled tomatoes (and any luscious juices fron trays) and tomato paste to the onion mixture in the pan and cook for approx 5 minutes until well combined.
4. Place the tomato mixture into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
5. Can be refrigerated in air tight container for up to 5 days or bagged, labelled and frozen for future use. If freezing, do not add any other ingredients (such as fresh herbs) before freezing. Thaw in refrigerator and then use as fresh.
6. Variation: Add 1/4 cup fresh basil while gently reheating.
7. Variation: Add 1/2 cup sliced, pitted Kalamata olives and 2 tblspns drained and rinsed capers while gently reheating.