I have been picking Amish Paste tomatoes for a couple of weeks now. This is my first experience with them. After years of trying to grow San Marzanos with little success, I came to my senses and realized that I did not live on the slope of Mount Vesuvius, nor did my garden have volcanic soil, and therefore, I would not be able to make San Marzanos happy – ever. A gardening neighbor told me that he had grown Amish Paste and they were tasty and prolific, so I bought a few plants.

I grow paste tomatoes so I can make sauce, a basic tomato sauce with garlic and fresh basil. I cut the fruits in half, brush them with olive oil and crushed garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast them until they are very, very soft. I think roasting brings out their sweetness.

Here they are ready to take a spin in the food processor.

And here’s the result. A nice, light basic sauce, which, in the dead of winter, tastes fresh and lovely.

I store the sauce in freezer bags, flat in my chest freezer. If we decide to add something to this basic sauce, say mushrooms or meat, that’s easy to do once it’s thawed.

So that’s my ridiculously easy sauce recipe. My fingers are crossed that we won’t have a hurricane that results in a power outage. That has happened to me the last two years in a row, and it sucked having to throw all my hard work away.