Sheree's Homemade Cooking Made Easy

I made up a batch of this marinara the other day and I thought I would share my pressure canning recipe with you. You will need the following ingredients:

Roasted MarinaraPhoto bySheree

Yields: 7 pints

Recipe:

9 – 10 pounds of tomatoes

12 cloves of garlic

2 large onions

1/4 cup of fresh basil, packed

1 bell pepper

6 oz can of tomato paste

1/2 tablespoon of sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons of canning salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

Roasted MarinaraPhoto bySheree

citric acid (found in the canning supply aisle not sponsored)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

I used two large sheet pans to roast the tomatoes.

Wash and cut the tomatoes in half and remove the core.

Place the tomatoes cut side up tightly on the sheet pans.

Roasted MarinaraPhoto bySheree

Cut 1 onion up into small wedges and place it on the sheet pans. Add 6 cloves of garlic that have been peeled.

In a small bowl combine the salt and pepper and sprinkle it evenly over the tomatoes and place the sheet pans into the oven.

Roasted MarinaraPhoto bySheree

Bake the tomatoes, onions, and garlic for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to touch.

Tip: I use a fork to remove the skins from the tomatoes.

Roasted MarinaraPhoto bySheree

In a 7 quart stock pot, place the roasted tomatoes, garlic, and onions. You should have about 2 1/2 quarts after they have been roasted.

Dice the other onion into small pieces and mince the rest of the garlic and add it to the stock pot.

Prepare the pressure canner. Put the canner on the stove on medium heat but do not bring the water to a boil. Just warm it up.

Roasted MarinaraPhoto bySheree

Chop or tear the fresh basil into small pieces and add it along with the can of tomato paste. Tip: I use an immersion blender to puree the marinara before canning it but you can leave it chunky. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Marinara SaucePhoto bySheree

Place the marinara and 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid into the pint jars and debubble them using a butter knife or wooden skewer. I also stir the citric acid into the jars while doing this step.

Roasted MarinaraPhoto bySheree

Wipe the rims off with a damp towel.

Place the lid and ring on finger tight and carefully place the marinara into the pressure canner and pressure for 40 minutes.

I use a 10 pound weight on my canner per my altitude. Check yours to see what weight you need to use.

Remove from the canner and place on a clean towel and leave for 24 hours without moving. Check for sealing jars and if one does not seal just let it cool to room temperature and place it into the refrigerator and eat within a few days.

Note: You have to add the citric acid to the tomatoes now per the FDA recommendations. Most of the tomatoes that are grown now do not have a high enough acid content like those older varieties had. So to be safe use the citric acid.

When I serve this sometimes I will add ground beef or italian sausage and sometimes I will just serve it as is. It is a delicious way to preserve those garden grown tomatoes.