Roasted tomato sauce

Wash the tomatoes, core and cut in half. Season with plenty of extra virgin olive oil, fleur de sel, pepper, fresh thyme, oregano and crushed garlic.

Roast in the oven for about an hour.

Remove the excess tomato water as it cooks and save it.

Slip the skins off the tomatoes and the garlic.

Press the tomato flesh and garlic through the food mill; add canned whole peeled tomatoes.

Transfer the pulp to a large pot or Dutch oven and start to cook. Meanwhile cook fresh basil in olive oil until fragrant and add it all to the sauce.

Cook the sauce for a while to concentrate the flavors.

Variation: for a more refined sauce, sweat onions in more olive oil with no color, about 10 minutes.

Variation: deglaze with a dash of white wine.

Variation: add homemade chicken or veal stock and the tomato sauce; cook about 10 minutes, adjust seasoning, blend and sieve. Blended, the sauce turns orange from oxidation.