Roasted Tomato Sauce (Canned)

INGREDIENTS

• 20 lbs. past tomatoes (I do add in a few other varieties as well for best flavor & consistency)
• 4 c. chopped onions
• 8 med. cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 2 TB. canning salt
• 1-1/2 TB. dried oregano
• 1-1/2 TB. dried basil
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional, but we love it)
• Citric acid or bottled lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Halving all ingredients to work in two batches, divide olive oil, onions, garlic, and dry seasonings between 2 or 3 roasting pans (what you have that will fit in your oven).

Wash tomatoes, remove cores and blossom ends, cut in half and squeeze gently to remove juice and seeds. Place tomatoes, cut side down, on top of ingredients in prepared pans.

Roast for about 40 minutes, turning once, until most of the tomato skins are puffed and browned. Remove from oven.

Scrape roasted vegetables into a large stockpot, set aside and repeat the prep and roasting with remaining half of ingredients.

Using an immersion blender, blend roasted ingredients until smooth (alternately, you can scrape from the roasting pans into a blender in batches and then add to the stockpot). 

Bring smooth sauce to a boil over med-high heat, lower heat and then simmer sauce until it reaches desired consistency, stirring often, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can adjust salt or dry seasonings to taste at this point if you wish.

Prepare a steam canner, jars, and lids.

Adding 1/4 tsp. citric acid to pints (1/2 tsp. to quarts) OR 1 TB. lemon bottled juice to pints (2 TB. for quarts), ladle the hot tomato sauce into hot jars, one at a time with 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe rims, attach lids and place in canner rack.

Process 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts (if processing both pints and quarts together, use the longer processing time). 

Remove from canner to a towel-lined surface and let cool 24 hours. Check seals, label & store for up to a year.

*Advertising Disclosure: Joni Mowery/fashioned4you is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.