Roasted Tomato Garlic Pizza Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line two shallow roasting pans and/or 15x10x1-inch baking pans with foil. Cut one or two small slits in each tomato. Place tomatoes in a single layer in the prepared pans. Cut off the top 1/2 inch of garlic bulb to expose ends of individual cloves. Leaving garlic bulb whole, remove any loose, papery outer layers. Place bulb, cut end up, in a custard cup. Drizzle bulb with a little oil; cover with foil. Roast tomatoes and garlic on separate oven racks about 30 minutes or until tomato skins are blistered and garlic feels soft; cool.

2. Coarsely chop tomatoes, discarding the loose skins and any excess juice. Remove garlic cloves from paper skins by squeezing the bottom of the bulb. Transfer tomatoes and garlic to a 6- to 8-quart stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy pot. Stir in wine, sugar, and salt. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Press tomato mixture through a food mill fitted with a coarse disc. (Or working in batches, transfer tomato mixture to a food processor or blender. Cover and process or blend until smooth. Press pureed mixture through a sieve.*) Discard seeds and skins.

4. Return the strained mixture to the pot. Stir in basil, oregano, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 45 to 50 minutes or until reduced to about 8 cups. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice.

5. Ladle hot sauce into hot sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.

6. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 35 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks.

Roasted Red Pepper Pizza Sauce:

Prepare as directed, except reduce tomatoes to 8 pounds. Cut 3 pounds red sweet peppers in half lengthwise; remove stems, seeds, and membranes. Place pepper halves, cut sides down, on a large foil-lined baking sheet. Roast peppers with the tomatoes and garlic as directed about 30 minutes or until pepper skins are browned. Bring foil up around peppers and fold edges together to enclose. Let stand about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Peel off and discard skins. Coarsely chop peppers and add to pot with the tomatoes and garlic in Step 2. Continue as directed. Nutrition analysis per serving (sixty-four 2-tablespoon servings): 22 calories, 0 g fat (0 g sat. fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 127 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 1 g protein.

Spicy Sicilian Pizza Sauce:

Prepare as directed, except substitute dry white wine for the red wine and omit the crushed red pepper. Stir 1/2 cup snipped fresh parsley, 2 finely chopped fresh cayenne or other small red chile peppers,** and 1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme into sauce with the herbs in Step 4. Continue as directed. If desired, stir in 1/4 cup drained capers with the lemon juice.Nutrition analysis per serving (sixty-four 2-tablespoon servings): 19 calories, 0 g fat (0 g sat. fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 127 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 1 g protein.**Tip: Because chile peppers contain volatile oils that can burn your skin and eyes, avoid direct contact with them as much as possible. When working with chile peppers, wear plastic or rubber gloves. If your bare hands do touch the peppers, wash your hands and nails well with soap and warm water.

*Tip:

Using the food processor and sieve will result in a thinner pizza sauce, as more solids will be removed. You will also need to adjust the cooking time in Step 4 to 15 to 20 minutes, as you won't have as much mixture to cook down to 8 cups.