Roasted Roma Tomatoes

A mid winter's jewel to pull out of the storage pantry.  By far, this is my MOST favorite recipe for canned tomatoes.  Its rich earthy flavor can make spaghetti sauce go from plain to out of this world.  Rarely do I have to add additional tomato paste when using this jarred goodness as the base in tomato dishes.  Made from roma or paste type tomatoes, roasted fresh garlic, charred tomatoes, onions, a hint of extra virgin olive, fresh oregano .. and a little sea salt .. it begs to be awarded a blue ribbon.

Recipe:

12 lbs roma or paste type tomatoes
4 bulbs garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
bottled lemon juice

Drizzle the garlic with a little bit of olive oil ... wrap the heads in a pouch of aluminum foil; sealing well.  Place on a shallow baking dish and bake at 350F for 30-60 minutes (or until soft).  Remove from oven and cool.

If you have a second oven, while the garlic is baking, wash tomatoes ... pat dry.  Then place them on a baking sheet or broiler pan and place under the broiler until they just begin to char.  Turn tomatoes over with a pair of large tongs and broil the other side.

Place the tomatoes fresh from the broiler into a heavy brown paper bag that is sitting on a tray to catch any leakage from the bag.  Fold over the top of bag and wait for about  15 minutes.  This process took three times for my tomatoes.  When cool enough to handle, the skins should just slip off.  Cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out some of the seeds.  Chop the tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces.  Place chopped/seeded tomatoes into a large stock pan.  Either peel or squeeze the garlic out of the skins and add along with other ingredients.  Cook until hot.  Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each quart jar.  Seal properly and process in a boiling water canner for 1 hour 25 minutes at sea level.  Adjust time according to your altitude.  Makes 4 quarts.  (Each quart takes 3 lbs of tomatoes .. I had 15 pounds of tomatoes so adjusted the recipe accordingly and ended up with 5 quarts).

This recipe is from the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving, 2010 edition.  Please refer to canning safety guides if you are new to home canning.