I made two homemade pizza sauces the other day. Both were delicious! I don't think I will ever make pizza with bought sauce again.
I had four tomatoes that were about to go bad and I knew I would never have the chance to eat them fast enough. So I cut each one in half and placed them in a greased pie plate cut side down. I wasn't sure what I would ultimately use the tomatoes for, so I kept the seasoning fairly simple. They were drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and crushed time. After setting the oven to a low 250 degrees, I placed them in and let them slowly cook. After about 4 or 6 hours, I really don't remember how long, but when I pulled them out they had collapsed and looked like bright red cow pies. There were caramelized spots, and the smell was heavenly.
Once they cooled, I didn't know what I was going to use them for, so I threw them into the freezer.
To make the pizza sauce, I pulled the tomatoes from the freezer and let them thaw out. Once thawed, into the mini food processor they went along with several small garlic cloves and a pinch of salt. I thought about adding a little bit of fresh parsley, but decided against it. The sauce got spread over the crust and was perfect! It was a bit loose, but really infused the crust while baking. It could have been placed into a sauce pan and reduced a little bit to make it thicker if that is your preference, but I didn't want to wait.
We also made homemade pesto sauce! I had used store bought wilted basil to make a recipe the other day and it was only so so. Jeremy went shopping at GTG Hydroponics looking for fertilizer for our tomato plants, and they had herbs growing in AeroGardens to show how they work. He was able to bring home a beautiful, fragrant, bunch of fresh basil. The difference in color, texture, and smell was unbelievable. I will never make the mistake of buying basil in the store again.
Back to the pesto! The basil went into the mini food processor along with a handful or so of parmesean cheese, several cloves of garlic, and a glug of extra virgin olive oil. I forgot to add the salt and pine nuts, but it will still delicious.
My camera is finally getting fixed, so pictures will be coming soon!
3 comments:
Oh man, that sauce sounds delish! I've never roasted tomatoes but I think you've inspired me. Also, never heard of hydroponic basil. Are you planning to grow basil in your garden?
It was growing in a rainforest type setup, pretty darn cool.
As for growing it, absolutely, the fresh stuff was so flavorful and yummy I wasn't sure what I had bought at the store should even try to pass for basil.
Oh, and you HAVE to try roasting the tomatoes. Great way to use up ones that are about to go bad, but you could also just buy them to make this.
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