Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce

Growing our own vegetables comes with a degree of uncertainty since they’re susceptibleto the extremes of the elements: like this year and our hot, dry summer. I crossed my fingers and toes, and waited patiently for our lone tomato plant to blossom.

Conditions were apparently ripe and i threw my local community garden bounty into my slow cooker for purposeful preservation.

A good batch of homemade tomato sauce can see us through the earlier winter months.
You can use fresh or canned tomatoes.

If you choose not to skin and deseed fresh tomatoes then the result will be of a more rustic nature but equally delicious and versatile.

Ingredients
1tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, small dice
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 ½ lbs fresh tomatoes deseeded and chopped or 2 x large 28oz cans plum tomatoes
6oz can tomato paste
1tbsp fresh oregano or marjoram (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tbsp fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)
¼ cup red wine
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 generous tsp sugar

Combine all the ingredients in your slow cooker insert.

Cook on low for 6 hrs or high for 3 hrs.

Puree the cooked sauce using a stick blender for ease.

Add fresh chopped basil to the finished sauce if using with pasta. Portion and freeze it in bags or ice cube trays ready to defrost for a simple bowl of spaghetti with basil, black olives and parmesan, or add to a stew or ragu.

Zen Toolkit

Line up your spice jars and set out dry ingredients the night before or skip this step and purchase our Marinara “Zen Blend” filled with organic herbs and spices – everything you need to simplify your slow cooking experience.

Looking Ahead
This sauce features in our Bonfire Meatball recipe in November so you can prep ahead and freeze. A tasty vegetarian treat next week – Spicy Lentil Tortillas with sour cream.

Zen Moment
“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don’t let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.”
– R. I. Fitzhenry