Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce

     The sauce was easy enough to make but was fairly time consuming so make sure you have at least 3 hours to spend making and canning it.  The sauce was simple but flavorful and the taste of the fresh tomatoes shined through.  I'm looking forward to using this with pasta in the winter.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce (adapted from Better Home and Garden Canning Magazine)
3 bulbs of garlic
3 T. olive oil
4 bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, or green), halved and seeded
12 pounds of tomatoes, peeled
3 T. brown sugar
2 T salt
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 t. ground pepper
1 c. fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary) chopped
3 T. dried herbs (basil, parsley)
6 T. bottled lemon juice

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Peel away the dry outer layer of the garlic bulbs and cut the tops of the bulbs off.  Place the cut side up on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Arrange the cut peppers on another cookie sheet, cut side down, and drizzle with olive oil.  Cook for 40 minutes.

2.  Remove the peppers and garlic from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.  Remove the garlic from the bulb and place in a food processor and add the peeled, cut tomatoes.  Process until just slightly chunky.

4.  Remove from heat and stir in the fresh herbs.  Spoon 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into each of the prepared pint jars leaving ½ inch headspace.  Wipe jar rims, fit with a lit, and twist screwband to fingertip tight.  Place in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes at a full boil.

5.  Remove from heat and remove lid.  Let sit 5 minutes before removing from the canner.  Let sit for 12 hours and then check the lids to make sure they sealed.