6 reasons why you need to roast your tomatoes for sauce

1. Choose ripe tomatoes

Using tomatoes at their prime makes for an extra-tasty sauce. It also prevents you from needing to add an excessive amount of sugar, because ripe tomatoes are favoured for their naturally sweet flavour. Using a variety of heirloom tomato varieties also adds dimension and, if you’re not blending your sauce, adds gorgeous colour to your dish. Case in point, Abigail Donnelly’s roasted tomato sauce recipe, which also incorporates ricotta and pine nuts.

To get started, place about 6 whole, large tomatoes in an ovenproof dish or baking tray with a halved garlic bulb, two peeled and quartered onions or shallots, and pour over a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil. Don't forget a good few cracks of sea salt and black pepper.

Roasted tomato sauce with ricotta and pine nuts recipe

2. Add some aromatics and herbs

How much garlic is too much garlic? It’s up to you, so add to your heart’s content! Many recipes call for a whole bulb, sliced in half horizontally, which is a safe amount to use. A few halved shallots or a quartered onion will make for a sweeter, more fragrant sauce. And I know they’re not really aromatics as such, but I like to toss a handful of olives and capers  and maybe a few anchovies – into my roasting tray before cooking. Add some sweet, fragrant fennel to the equation, or keep it classic with basil, like Phillipa Cheifitz did in this tasty recipe:

Pasta with traybake tomato-mushroom sauce recipe

3. Don’t skimp on the herbs

A bouquet garni, a.k.a. a bundle of herbs tied with string, will add beautiful aroma to whatever you cook, but they are especially beneficial in a sauce of this nature. You can also just throw in the herbs – thyme, rosemary, basil and sage all LOVE tomatoes, but it’s up to you (and what’s in the fridge) when it comes to what combination works best.

Add a handful of each of these herbs to your tray bake. At this point you can also add olives and anchovies, if you like. Time to preheat your oven! Crank it up to 200ºC.

4. Get cheesy

You know that pesky edge of Parmesan near the rind where it gets kind of hard to grate? Don’t throw that out! Throw it into your roasting pan of ingredients before placing it in the oven and watch it impart deep, cheesy flavour to your sauce. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add plenty of Parmesan just before serving, of course. A couple blocks of feta in the tray before baking will also deliver a lush, creamy and rich sauce, too. Roasting your tomatoes in butter also makes for a seriously tasty, creamy sauce. Try it in this recipe for butter-roasted tomato and sausage spaghetti

If using, add the feta or Parmesan heel. Place the baking tray in the oven and roast for about 15–20 minutes, or until the tomatoes and onions have caramelised. Remember to cool the tray bake before adding to the blender to blitz, or you could have an explosion on your hands! But of course, you knew this already. Remove the Parmesan heel and blitz into everything into a delicious, chunky sauce. Check your seasoning; you might need to add a little more salt. I sometimes add a drizzle of honey too, if the sauce is too acidic.

Easy, butter-roasted tomato-and-sausage spaghetti recipe

5. Pick your pasta wisely

Although a roasted tomato sauce lends itself well to pretty much any pasta shape, pastas like conchiglie, orecchiette or rigatoni hold sauce well, and make for tastier mouthfuls. Here’s Abigail Donnelly’s quick guide to picking the right pasta shape.

 

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6. Finish with some texture

Now to crown your dish with something special. Adding delicious bits of crispy pancetta, fried capers or fried basil leaves really takes your pasta to the next lev. A great supper idea is to stir your sauce through pasta, place on a large serving platter, and surround it with little bowls of toppings, allowing people to pick and choose their own. Bacon, meatballs, anchovies, olives, marinated roasted peppers, a top-quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar,

Parmesan or pecorino shavings, and a heap of fresh basil leaves will all do the job perfectly.

Find more tomato-based recipes here