Description
This Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Sauce is a rich, flavorful sauce made by slow-roasting roma tomatoes and red bell peppers with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. The slow roasting concentrates the natural sweetness and depth of the vegetables, resulting in a savory, aromatic sauce perfect for pasta, pizza, or as a condiment.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegetables
- 1 dozen roma tomatoes
- 2 red bell peppers
- 5 whole cloves garlic
Herbs and Seasonings
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 10 leaves fresh basil
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Other
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare baking sheet: Pre-heat your oven to 275°F (135°C). Position an oven rack in the top third of the oven and line a baking sheet with foil to make cleaning easier.
- Prepare vegetables: Cut the roma tomatoes in half and remove their cores. Quarter the red bell peppers and carefully remove all seeds from each piece.
- Toss with herbs and oil: In a large bowl, mix the olive oil with dried oregano, dried thyme, Italian seasoning, torn fresh basil leaves, salt, and pepper. Add the prepared tomatoes and peppers to this bowl and use your hands to coat each piece evenly with the herb and oil mixture.
- Arrange for roasting: Place the coated tomatoes and peppers cut side up on the prepared baking sheet. Distribute the whole garlic cloves in between the vegetables and scatter remaining basil leaves on top. Drizzle any leftover oil mixture over the vegetables. Place the baking sheet on the oven rack.
- Roast low and slow: Roast the tomatoes and peppers in the oven for 2.5 hours (150 minutes), allowing them to slowly caramelize and deepen in flavor.
- Cool the roasted vegetables: Once roasted, remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the vegetables cool for at least 10 minutes before handling further.
- Blend into sauce: Carefully transfer the roasted vegetables along with garlic and basil onto a food processor (in batches if necessary). Blend until you achieve your desired sauce consistency—smooth or slightly chunky.
- Reheat before serving (optional): If you prefer, gently reheat the sauce before serving to enhance flavors and warmth.
Notes
- Low oven temperature and long roasting time develop deeper flavors and caramelization without burning.
- You can store the sauce refrigerated for up to 5 days or freeze it for longer storage.
- Adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or herbs after blending to taste.
- This sauce pairs wonderfully with pasta, grilled meats, or as a base for other Italian dishes.
- Using fresh basil along with dried herbs gives the sauce vibrant herbal notes.
