San Marzano Roma Tomato Sauce

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following products from SLO Farm, Sweetwater Farm, and Songbird Farm:

• apples: Gravenstein, Akane, Sansa
• tomatoes: slicers, heirlooms, cherries, and saucers (San Marzano romas)!
• cucumbers, zucchini, beets, eggplants, peppers
• greens, parsley, basil, garlic
• eggs, honey, sauerkraut, kimchi

I know I've been writing a lot of posts about tomatoes lately, but I feel compelled, as a public service, to urge you to grab up some of SLO Farm's San Marzano romas while you can get them because they make the absolutely tastiest sauce you can imagine. They seem sort of dry when you chop them up, but you must restrain yourself from dousing them with wine or other liquids. Instead have faith and add them to a pan with olive oil, chopped garlic and a sprinkle of red pepper, and before you know it, they will have melted into an intensely flavorful sauce, perfect for pasta or pizza.

San Marzano Tomato Sauce

A dozen San Marzano roma tomatoes
1 or 2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
a sprig of fresh marjoram or a few leaves of basil
salt to taste


Chop the tomatoes into eights. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for a few minutes until the garlic is glassy but not browned. Add the chopped tomatoes, fresh herbs, and a pinch of salt and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down into a thick sauce. Adjust seasonings. Serve over pasta or use for pizza, or as the base for more elaborate sauces.