It’s the end of the summer season and, if you’re anything like I am at this point, you’ve exhausted nearly all of your summer veggie recipes. There’s only so much zucchini one can eat, right? And don’t even get me started on tomatoes. But these are all still growing in abundance, especially if you’re fortunate enough to have your own backyard garden or green-thumbed friends who like to share.

Ant and I recently were gifted a large (read: enormous) bag of cherry tomatoes from a friend’s harvest, and I immediately knew I wanted to make some sort of sauce. Really, what else is there to do with that many tomatoes? I decided the best way to cook the tomatoes would be to roast them. My choice seemed so logical given that I roast nearly every vegetable that comes through my home for these two reasons:

1. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness in your veggies. It browns them and makes them super flavorful and yummy. Don’t like a certain vegetable (i.e. Brussels sprouts)? Try them roasted and you’ll be a convert.
2. I’m really lazy. Roasting provides minimal prep time and maximum down time as your oven basically does the work for you.

And you know what? I was not wrong. The roasted tomatoes, combined with only a couple other ingredients, make this sauce so rich and delicious that you won’t believe you actually made this yourself.

Try this recipe with all your end-of-season cherry tomatoes, or just pick up a couple of containers at your local market or farm stand. You won’t be disappointed (and if you are, just call me and I’ll come over to eat the sauce for you).

A COUPLE THINGS BEFORE YOU START

• This recipe contains simple, real food. Don’t believe me? Just scroll down. It’s, like, three ingredients tops depending on how many different herbs you use (and if you don’t count the salt and pepper, which I consider freebies).
• It’s oil-free. Nothing against oil. It’s just sometimes nice to have a recipe without it. And believe me, you don’t need it. This sauce is rich and creamy all on its own.
• There are no exact measurements listed. It’s true. I’ve given you approximations based on what I used. You’re going to have to just wing it depending on how much of each ingredient you’ve got and how much you like the flavor of each one. But trust me, you can you do it. You really can’t go wrong with this sauce any way you cook it up.

  

Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
– cherry tomatoes (I’d say I used about 2-3 pounds)
– garlic cloves, chopped small (I used approx. 4-5 cloves)
– fresh herbs, chopped (I used a small handful of basil and oregano from my mom’s garden)
– salt (to taste)
– pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees*.

Wash tomatoes, dry them, and spread them out on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle chopped garlic evenly over tomatoes. Add a little salt and pepper on top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until tomatoes shrivel and brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

When tomatoes and garlic have cooled, put them in your blender or food processor and blend with fresh herbs until smooth. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Stare in amazement at how creamy the sauce turned out. Pour it over pasta (like I did), use it as a pizza sauce, or eat some straight from the bowl with a spoon if you’re into that sort of thing. Enjoy!

*Editor’s note: This originally said 450 degrees, but it should actually be 425 degrees. I’ve made the edit though I am pretty sure 450 degrees would work as well; just keep an eye on your tomatoes and adjust the time they are in there.

AND THE REVIEWS ARE IN (Okay, it’s just one review this time)…

What Ant Says
“I really dug this sauce. It’s fresh, it’s juicy, it’s just plain yumbo-licious!”

HOW ARE YOU USING UP YOUR SUMMER VEGGIES? I’VE GIVEN YOU MY IDEA – NOW SHARE SOME OF YOURS BELOW!