Roma Tomato Pasta Sauce

Here’s a really quick and easy pasta sauce to make.

Ok, so it might not be THAT quick, but it is pretty easy.

I’m a little light on photos. Aunt Jen, Uncle Alex and Baki came over for a visit and I was already a horrible host by spending the whole afternoon, save a quick shopping trip (thanks Jen!) in the kitchen cooking. I didn’t want to have a camera stuck on my face too.

I don’t have any real measurements either, it’s more or less use your judgment, and adjust the seasoning at the end when you taste it.

First off, grab your Roma tomatoes (I used 9) and peel them. To do this really easily cut an X in the non-stem end of the tomato. Put them all in a large pot of boiling water until you see the skin just start to peel back where you scored it (this only takes about 20 or 30 seconds). Scoop out the tomatoes with a slotted spoon, then plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking. The skins will easily pull off in your hands now. This works great for peaches too!

After you’ve peeled the tomatoes, you need to get most of the seeds out. Cut the tomato in half length wise, then use your thumbs to push out the seeds. Now dice them up nice and chunky.

As you’ve noticed, I have zero photos of any of this. Sorry about that. The next time I make it I’ll take pictures.

Now, throw some olive oil and whole peeled garlic cloves into a pan and cook until the garlic just starts to become fragrant and lightly brown. Don’t let it burn though! If it burns, toss it all out and start again because your whole sauce will taste burnt!

Next, add 1 small onion, diced fine, and 1 large carrot, shredded, into the pan. I use the carrot to sweeten the sauce rather then a bunch of sugar (there’s lots of natural sugar in carrots). At the end, if your tomatoes were a little too acidic tasting still, you can add a bit of actual sugar if you need it.

Cook them down until the onions are nice and soft and just barely starting to brown.

Throw in your tomatoes.

Then add some water, I used about a cup. The green leaves are some basil that I added, but I would just garnish at the end from now on. Here’s the hardest thing to do: for the most part, leave the sauce alone. Let it simmer over medium-low heat until the tomatoes break down on their own, with just gentle stirring once in a while.

Once the majority of the water has evaporated, and the tomatoes broken down into a chunky mess, you’re good to go! Use the back of a spoon to smush the garlic which is now soft and incredible, then stir it into the sauce. You can use it right away, or throw it in the fridge for a day and just re-heat.

Here’s the printable, just remember, measurements are rough!

Roma Tomato Pasta Sauce

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Print

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small onion, diced fine
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 9 roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced chunky
• 1 cup water
• salt
• pepper
• sugar (optional)
• fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

1. Add the oil and garlic cloves to a pan and heat over medium until fragrant and the garlic just starts to get some color, about 2 minutes.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the onion and carrot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat to low and add the tomatoes, water, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Let the tomatoes simmer, with minimal interruption or stirring, until they have broken down and the sauce thickened, about 30 minutes.
7. When the sauce is ready, taste and then season with salt and pepper accordingly. If needed, add a little bit of sugar to sweeten.