Roasted Tomato Sauce

The first combined food growing and cookbook I ever bought was Fork to Fork by Monty and Sarah Don. It was also the first book I bought on Amazon second-hand as it was out of print at the time. I believe an updated version is now available. The book brightened up my train commute to Bristol for quite a while during a bleak and dismal November when I couldn't get to grips with my new allotment. I'd just acquired it (in October 2003) and was dreaming about all the wonderful fresh, seasonal food I would soon be growing. This book fueled my dreams. That first allotment summer I grew an abundance of tomatoes that stayed for weeks after I'd actually composted the plants. Once again I turned to Fork to Fork for inspiration and found this marvellously rich tomato sauce. I use it as a basis for soups and pasta sauce (it can also be used for pizzas), the latter often contains the ever present courgette too!

Ingredients:

• 5lb (2.25kg) fresh tomatoes (single variety, or mixed according to what's in abundance at the time)
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced (I often use more, especially if there's been a good crop)
• Sea salt
• Sugar
• Olive oil (I use extra virgin as I love its fruitiness)

Method:

1. Cut the tomatoes in half and place cut side down in a large roasting tin
2. Sprinkle with the garlic, sea salt and a little sugar; drizzle with olive oil
3. Roast in a pre-heated hot oven (gas Mark 8, 230 degrees centigrade, 450 degrees fahrenheit) for 40-60 minutes. Don't worry if the tomatoes start to bubble - this is the water evaporating out of them, which means a much more concentrated flavour
4. To make the sauce, scrape off every last bit of tomato into a food processor and process until smooth
5. The sauce will keep for up to a week in the fridge with a little olive oil floated on top, or it can be put in small containers for the freezer (about a quarter of the sauce to 1 container)

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