Summer is a crazy harvest time for us. One week we are picking a ridiculous amount of zucchini, the next its eggplant and this week it has has been cherry tomatoes. One of my favorite pasta sauces is roasting cherry tomatoes in the oven with olive oil, capers and garlic. Usually, I leave the tomatoes whole after roasting, but this week I roasted the cherry tomatoes and then pureed them in a mason jar with an immersion blender. The result was a sweet, creamy sauce that was a perfect compliment to pasta and made even more wonderful topped with grated parmesan cheese. Sophia, our 2 year old daughter couldn’t get enough of this sweet cherry tomato sauce on pasta shells.
The 2 tools you need to make the sauce.
All you need to make pureed cherry tomato sauce is a sheet pan and something that you can puree the sauce with. I use an immersion blender in a mason jar so that I can save dishes by storing the finished sauce in the same container I made it in, but you could use a food processor or a blender to create the same result. Roast the tomatoes on a sheet pan in the oven with olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Wait for the sauce to cool, add to the mason jar with any other ingredients you would like to flavor the sauce with. In the video, you will see I also added some fresh herbs, but you could add cream, parmesan cheese or any other flavorings you crave in a sauce. Blend until you get to the desired consistency and you are done. Really, it is that simple. You can store the mason jar in the refrigerator for at least a week or you can freeze it and enjoy your cherry tomato sauce all winter long. Just make sure the sauce is cooled before freezing so the jar won’t break!
Different ways to use cherry tomato sauce.
Of course, the obvious choice for cherry tomato sauce is to put it on pasta, but I love to also use it as a base in chili or any soup that you want a sweet tomato flavor. You can use it to make salsa or cook it down until it becomes thick enough that it becomes tomato paste. Freeze the paste in ice cube trays and then use throughout the winter to make soups. Today, we used it on pizza with the rest of our harvest as a topping (zucchini, eggplant and mushrooms). You can make Shakshuka (eggs poached in tomato sauce) or a curry sauce that will be sweet and delectable.
Watch how easy it is to make the sauce below.
Cherry Tomato Sauce made in a Mason Jar
Ingredients
- 2 quarts ripe cherry tomatoes stems removed and washed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Up to 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Additions
- Any fresh herbs you have about 1/4 cup, parsley, dill or basil work great
- 2 tablespoons cream half and half would work
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Add cherry tomatoes to a sheet pan. Drizzle on olive oil and balsamic. Sprinkle on oregano, crushed garlic, salt and pepper (you can add more salt and pepper later).
- Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until cherry tomatoes begin to wrinkle. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Add tomatoes including all the liquid at the bottom of the sheet pan to a 1 quart mason jar. You can add any other ingredients such as fresh herbs, grated cheese or cream. Puree tomatoes with an immersion blender to desired consistency. Use immediately, refrigerate or freeze in mason jar.
Nutrition
About the Author: Bill Bradley, R.D.
I love this recipe. I used grape tomatoes as I had just picked fresh ones available at produce market I manage. This will be a go to recipe for me. I like tomatoes on everything. Just started the online weight loss program last week and look forward to eating well!