1. Prepare the tomatoes by deseeding and cutting into consistent pieces (refer to the blog description and photos for details on tomato prep). Set aside. 

2. Crush  3-4 garlic cloves with the side of knife to release the oils but keep the clove whole. As you will be pureeing the sauce, you don’t have to take the time to mince the garlic.

3. Coat the bottom of a pot with about 2 TBSP of olive oil and heat it up over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves until fragrant.

4. Add the entire bounty of tomatoes and 1 tsp of salt. Let the tomatoes cook for about an hour and half. During the cooking process the tomatoes will “melt” into very soft and liquid version of themselves. It will look like consistency of store bought salsa at this point. 

5. Using an immersion blender ( you can definitely use a blender or food processor depending on how smooth you like your sauce)  puree the sauce to a smoother consistency. The sauce is very creamy and lightens up to almost a vodka sauce color. 

You can cool it and put it in an airtight container to store in the refrigerator or freezer. Or you can add use it immediately. This is the point in which I like to taste the sauce. Sometimes I add 1/4 – 1/2 tsp more of salt and some fresh ground pepper.

If you wanted to add more complexity to the sauce, you can simmer it again with 1/4 – 1/2 cup of a dry red wine, some minced fresh basil or oregano. 

This is my favorite sauce to use for lasagna, given it’s fresh and mild flavors. It complements rather than competes with the many flavors of the dish.