Jammy San Marzano Tomato Sauce

This year my family is not doing tomatoes. And by “doing tomatoes” I mean the process of buying bushels of San Marzano tomatoes and turning them into sauce in your Nonna’s garage. It’s a really fun time, but we can’t seem to get it together this year. So instead I have decided to do my own tomatoes at home, in a slightly different way. I don’t have an industrial sized burner, stock pot, 4 foot long wooden spoon, or dumpster-sized vat for boiling the jars. So instead I worked with what I have at home, and what I could accomplish in my condo. I decided that due to the heat and humidity of summer, and my inability to separate out the seeds and skins (because I don’t have a sauce machine here), roast and puree was my best option. I could accomplish a jammy, sweet sauce that plays into the strengths of San Marzano tomatoes; sweet, pulpy goodness. Fellow tomato-heads will understand.

The process was quite simple but did take some time and devotion to complete. I did a quarter bushel, a paltry amount in comparison to the 6 bushels my family usually processes together. This will be a good amount to freeze for the fall and winter, and will reduce the need to scam jars of sauce off my parents or buy tins of imported Italian tomatoes at the store.

I have scaled the recipe back to a 10 tomato batch, as I assume most readers do not have a quarter bushel of tomatoes handy.

Here’s how I did it, and how you can create this beautiful sauce at home.

peanut free, nut free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, wheat and gluten free, fish and shellfish free

Ingredients for Jammy San Marzano Tomato Sauce

• 10 San Marzano Tomatoes, sliced in half

• 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

How to make Jammy San Marzano Tomato Sauce

1. Spread the tomatoes out, face up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush 2 tbsp of oil evenly over the tomatoes so they are well coated. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of sea salt. Bake at 375F for 2 hours or until golden and syrupy. Some areas may be caramelized to the point of being blackened, which is fine so long as it’s just a few bits and pieces.

2. Once the tomatoes have cooled enough to handle, add them to a food processor along with the remaining olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, oregano, chives, and parsley. Blend until smooth and creamy.

This yields approximately one cup of jammy tomato sauce. Toss with pasta, use as a sauce on fish or chicken, on pizza, or in any recipe that calls for tomato sauce.