Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce for Pasta

My greengrocer, Isabella, always gives me wonderful pasta recipes, and most of them are as easy as they are spectacular.

This time, as I was proudly telling her how luxuriant my oregano plant had become, she gave me this incredibly simple oven-roasted tomato sauce recipe.

It is full of fresh oregano, whose aroma bursts out of the oven as the tomatoes soften and develop a delicate crust.

oven roasted tomatoes sauce

A Recipe from My Greengrocer

Some of my favourite recipes have reached me this way: during an ordinary conversation while buying fruit and vegetables.

I mention an ingredient, ask a question, or describe what is growing on my balcony, and Isabella immediately knows what I should cook.

This recipe requires only tomatoes, oregano, olive oil, salt, and pasta. But roasting the tomatoes concentrates their flavour, while the oregano fills the kitchen with its unmistakable aroma.

Simple, fresh, and very easy. Isn’t that the kind of recipe we are all looking for?

oven roasted tomatoes sauce recipe

Fresh Oregano and Roasted Tomatoes

You can make this sauce with fresh or dried oregano, but fresh oregano gives it a particularly intense aroma.

The tomatoes are sliced, seasoned, and roasted just long enough to release their juices and develop a lightly caramelised surface.

Once they come out of the oven, they are mixed with a little more extra-virgin olive oil and added directly to the pasta.

A roasted tomato sauce recipe that is easy to make, tasty and healthy. Get this and more authentic Italian recipes on GP, a Rome based Italian food blog.
Print

oven roasted tomatoes sauce recipe

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Author Claudia Rinaldi | Gourmet Project

Ingredients

  • 16 piccadilly tomatoes 250 gr - 8,8 oz (cherry tomatoes are ok too)
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 handful oregano fresh or dried
  • 5-6 oz long pasta (I used Tuscan pici once and linguini the second time) 160-180 gr
  • salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
  2. Roughly chop the oregano leaves.
  3. Slice the tomatoes and place them in a bowl, add the oregano, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
  4. Distribute the tomatoes over a sheet pan (lined with parchment paper). Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes (until the tomatoes release their liquids and they almost totally evaporate).
  5. Meanwhile cook the pasta following package directions.
  6. Remove the tomatoes from the oven, place them back in the bowl, salt to taste, add the remaining olive oil & stir.
  7. Season your pasta.
  8. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if you please, and have a wonderful Italian night.

Claudia