Rustic Marinara or Meat Sauce

In the summer when there are lots of fresh veggies

in our gardens or at the farmers market, this is a

wonderful recipe to try! Also check out the

variation at the bottom of the post for a side dish.

In small mixing bowl, combine:

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dry oregano flakes

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonin

1 Tablespoon dried parsley (or fresh if available)

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper, to taste.

This is enough for two 8x10 baking pans.

In the bottom of 2 8x10 glass baking pans, place:

1 large onion, rough chopped

8-10 cloves of garlic whole or smashed

Divide this between both pans.

Cut tomatoes in half, quarters, or chunks, depending on size

of tomotoes used. The ones here are small Fourth of July

tomatoes. Italian tomatoes are also good. Any type of tomatoes

should work fine. As much as possible, place skin side down.

Cover the bottom completely, overlapping. Don't be skimpy!

Drizzle half of the olive oil mixture over each pan.

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for one hour.

Half way though cooking time, switch pans if they are on

two different oven shelves.

Oh, this smells good!

Take the roasted tomaotes out of oven and let cool.

When cool, put 1/2 the mixture in the blender or

food processor and pulse to the consisteny that you

prefer. Repeat. If you want a meat sauce, add browned

ground beef. This is really yummy served over steamed

zuchinni and yellow summer squash or the traditional pasta.

     

The finished product!!!

This can also be frozen to use at a later date.

I use freezer zip bags.

A variation for a side dish:

Add zuchinni chunks and/or yellow summer squash chunks in the bottoms of the pans before adding tomatoes. After removing the roasted tomatoes and veggies from the oven, sprinkle with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, and serve warm!