Roasted Tomato Sauce #2

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
3 gallons halved and roasted tomatoes
1-2 summer squash, sliced into planks and grilled
1-2 eggplant, sliced into planks and grilled
1 red bell pepper, halved, seeds and membranes removed, and grilled
1 red onion, sliced grilled
1 pound bacon, chopped and sautéed until just crisp  
14 cup red wine vinegar
34 cup red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4 tablespoons seasoning, such as Italian seasoning blend or a mixture of your choice

Instructions
1. Brown beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once browned, add garlic and sauté for a minute longer.  Remove from heat.  

2. Working in batches, puree tomatoes in a food processor.  Place pureed tomatoes into a large stock pot.  

3. Working in batches, puree grilled vegetables in food processor and add to tomatoes in pot.  

4. Add ground beef with garlic and all remaining ingredients.  Stir well and simmer over low heat until desired consistency is reached.  

Note:  For the past many weeks I’ve been roasting tomatoes loosely following the method outlined in my previous Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe.  I core and halve the tomatoes, toss them with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and then roast them on a baking sheet with a rack at 475*F for 45-75 minutes until the tomato skins are well charred.  I then let them cool and freeze them in gallon-size freezer bags.  I can fit 24 tomatoes on two baking sheets, so I try to get that many from the market each week specifically for roasting and freezing.  

The vegetables are even easier.  Whenever I’m finished grilling I load up the grill with vegetables that I’ve sliced and tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then I close all the vents for the grill and close the lid, effectively turning it off, and let the vegetables cook while the grill cools.  Then I freeze them if I won’t be using them for a while or keep them in the refrigerator.  

[photo forthcoming]

Comments
This sauce was amazing.  It was thick and flavorful.  Art said he wanted to bathe in it.  While this might be a slight exaggeration it was pretty fantastic.  If your tomatoes are too wet, you can strain them before pureeing, but reserve the liquid in case you need to add more back to it later.

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