You all know by now that I’m much more of a method home cook than a recipe follower. I do my best to document two of my recipes each week so I can actually share them with you all.

This week, I did something I’ve never done before: I actually measured out the ingredients for my tomato sauce. And as luck would have it, this was my best tomato sauce ever. (Although I do say that every year…)

Ingredients

  • 1 flat of tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp salt (I used garlic salt I made earlier this year, but regular salt works just fine)
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp thyme

Yep, that’s it.

Directions

  1. Preheat your grill (or oven): I cranked my grill up to 500º.
  2. Prep your tomatoes: I rip my tomatoes in half and place them cut-side-down on a baking sheet. No oil. No parchment. Sprinkle the salt over the tomatoes.
  3. Roast your tomatoes: Roast the tomatoes until the tops are browned and most of the liquid has cooked off. Allow them to cool slightly, then slip most of the skins off. I do this to remove just a touch of bitterness and help with the texture.
  4. Transfer to an Instant Pot (or an enameled pot): Once the skins are off, scoop the tomatoes into a pot, leaving behind any watery juice. We’re just going to simmer that off eventually anyway.

For this particular moment, I was also blanching green beans (classic…) and my enameled pot was already in use. So I thought to myself, why not just use the Instant Pot?

  1. Turn on the Instant Pot: With all my tomatoes in the Instant Pot, I added the thyme and oregano, closed the lid, and put it on the slow-cook setting until morning. Then I went back to my green bean project.
  2. Immersion blend: The next morning, I was admittedly nervous. I had only ever simmered my tomato sauce in the past. But when I popped the lid off, I was STOKED. The sauce had cooked all night, marinating and deepening in flavor, and it was ready to be blended.

Give it a good blitz with an immersion blender until you reach your desired texture. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.

And there you have it: tomato sauce. No recipe really required—just tomatoes, salt, and herbs.