Roasted tomato sauce recipe

[amber]

This is the sauce I'm making today. The only thing I did differently was to use a metal roasting pan instead of glass. Will the tomatoes cook faster? They seem to be roasting pretty quickly, and they are suppose to roast for two hours.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/re_collections/text/0,1977,FOOD_11656_12797,00.html

 

[kitchenelf]

I would guess that they would cook quicker. I would either turn the heat down a tad or just not cook them as long. They also might stick to the metal pan - just get your little spatula ready!

 

[Gretchen]

Your link took me to a main page. If it is for 2 hours, the temp needs to be around 300* or less. Glass will cook slightly faster. I always roast tomatoes on oiled foil.

 

[amber]

Kitchenelf, I ended up not cooking them as long since they did cook faster.

Gretchen, sorry about the link, from that main page, you should see the Alton Brown videos, I clicked on the roasted tomatoe sauce video, and thats what I cut and pasted, but I guess it wants us to go to the main page.

Anyway, the roasted tomatoes are now processed, and I was surprised that 20 roma tomatoes only yielded approx. 1 cup of sauce! Though, it is very tasty. Next step is to cook it for five minutes in a pan with some wine.

In order to make a substantial amount of sauce, I would need a much bigger oven, like industrial/restaurant size! I saved a few of the roasted tomatoes with their charred skins to use on a salad or sandwich tomorrow. Love the charred skin.

 

[kitchenelf]

Sounds like you would have to totally fill every rack in your oven and rotate periodically to make enough...and maybe even over a couple days to really make it worth your while. I bet this sauce is going to be great. Be sure and come back and tell us how it turned out. I LOVE roasted tomatoes! This might be a good project one weekend. I guess you could can this sauce? I'm not a "canner" so I really don't know.

 

[amber]

Sounds like you would have to totally fill every rack in your oven and rotate periodically to make enough...and maybe even over a couple days to really make it worth your while. I bet this sauce is going to be great. Be sure and come back and tell us how it turned out. I LOVE roasted tomatoes! This might be a good project one weekend. I guess you could can this sauce? I'm not a "canner" so I really don't know.

Yes, I think your right, I would have to keep rotating pans of tomatoes to get a bigger yield of sauce. It's hard to justify using my electric oven that long though. Not sure if it could be canned, I suppose it could.

 

[FryBoy]

Is this the correct link to the recipe you followed?

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_20175,00.html

I've very surprised that you got only a cup of sauce from 20 Roma tomatoes. I would expect considerably more.

How big were the tomatoes? We've been getting very good Roma tomatoes on the vine in our local grocery stores lately, and they're about 4 ounces each.

 

[amber]

Fryboy, yes thats the recipe, though I watched his video version, but yea it's the same recipe. The link you mentioned doesnt say how much sauce it will yield, nor did he say on the video. My roma's were average size, I dont know how many ounces, but they looked the same as any I would purchase in a grocery store, or farmers market.

I have to say for the amount of work, and use of electric, it's not worth it for me. The tomatoes from my garden were free, I had herbs and seasonings on hand so no additional cost there, but to keep the oven on for two hours, not worth it.

More cost effective for me, and just as tasty, is to blanche the tomatoes, then run through a fine mesh collander, and freeze until ready to use.

One more thing guys, I noticed this sauce was extremely acidic, so much so that I had a canker sore after eating. I typically add sugar to my sauce, but in this case I was following Alton's recipe, which did not call for sugar. My husband couldnt stomach this sauce at all, he said it tasted like I added vinegar.

I do like the roasted tomatoes and charred skin on their own though, but not as a sauce in this particular recipe.

 

[FryBoy]

I agree, Amber -- too much work for that little amount of sauce, especially being as acidic as you describe.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Humm ... of course the size of the tomatoes will determine the final yield of the puree you get from them - from that recipe (20 tomatoes + 1 cup onions + 1 cup wine) you should have gotten 3-4 cups of sauce.

Roasting tomatoes will intensify the flavor, as well as the acid content. Adding sugar will not decrease the acid but it will decrease the acidic taste.

To make the oven more economical ... and do larger batches ... get a couple of half-sheet pans (sometimes called bun pans) from a restaurant supply. The ones I have (like the ones you see on FoodTV all the time) are 13" x 18" and only cost about $6. You can also get full-size pans for about $9 but you need to measure the inside of your oven before you get them - they are 18" x 26"!

 

[Mel!]

Tomato sauce reply

What i would do.
When the tomatoes look as much as u think they should be cooked, then turn off the oven and let them stay in the after heat, for the rest of the 2 hours.
I think cooking times in recipes are not always exact sciences, because different parts of the oven will be at different temperatures. For example, the back right corner of mine is the hottest, so things cook faster there.
Mel