First, we have our Romas. I did not want the skins in the sauce, nor most of the seeds, so some prep was required. I cut a small cross in the bottoms of each tomato, and plunged them into boiling water for about 30 to 60 seconds. Just enough to loosen or start to split the skins. Then, they are placed in an ice bath to stop the cooking and get them to a temperature where they can be easily handled. The skins should easily peel off at this point. I give them a good squeeze into the sink (and all over the wall, myself, the countertop, usually) to get out the bulk of the seeds and what little juice is inside.
Meanwhile, two medium onions are sauteeing in a pot on the stove.
Then some carrots too - three small/medium carrots peeled and roughly chopped.
Then I figured, what the heck, and tossed in one medium chopped zucchini and a few garlic cloves - I also added some salt at this point, along with black pepper and red pepper flakes.
And in go the naked tomatoes - I smash them up a bit with a wooden spoon, but generally allow the heat to do most of the work.
Once the mixture gets rolling, I added some bay leaves, a few sprigs of thyme from the garden, and other Italiany seasonings - oregano, etc. I also added more salt at this point and eventually, a scant teaspoon of sugar to cut the tomato acidity.
Once the tomatoes were broken down and the other veg totally soft, I removed the bay leaves and thyme stems, and put my boat motor to work to make a spreadable sauce. Here the sauce is, in its pizza glory (on a giant pizza - I was very hungry and didn't realize how much dough I grabbed from the fridge)
Topped it with some pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, grated provolone/regular mozzarella, parmesan, fresh basil from the garden and remaining Roma tomatoes. I also forgot to brush the crust with olive oil, oh well.
And here is the giant pizza after about 12 minutes in a 475 degree oven - golden and bubbly.
I didn't eat all this - I split part of it with Mr. R - even we are that greedy. :)
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