Culinary Guides

The sauce is the whole point here: four pounds of ripe tomatoes roasted with whole garlic cloves until they collapse into something sweet and deep, no can in sight. Tender pork and ricotta meatballs simmer right in it, finished with Parmesan and fresh basil. It is adapted from Mary Heffernan's Five Marys Ranch Raised, and it is worth making while tomatoes are at their peak.

Ingredients

For the tomato sauce

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
• Kosher salt
• 6 large cloves of garlic, whole and unpeeled
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, plus more if needed

For the meatballs

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan (or another hard salty cheese)
• 1/2 of a small yellow or red onion, finely chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Directions

Roast the tomatoes

1. Heat the oven to 400F (200C) with two racks positioned evenly. Brush two rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.
2. Spread the tomato wedges across the sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle generously with kosher salt, and tuck the unpeeled garlic cloves among them.
3. Roast about 45 minutes, rotating the sheets once or twice, until fragrant and just browning.

Blend the sauce

1. Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skins into a blender. Working in batches, add the tomatoes (skins and all) and blend smooth.
2. Pour into a large saucepan and stir in the balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust. Set aside.

Make the meatballs

1. Raise the oven to 450F (230C). Combine the pork, beef, ricotta, Parmesan, onion, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper and mix well with your hands.
2. Shape into about 28 two-inch meatballs and arrange on an oiled rimmed baking sheet, not touching. Bake about 20 minutes, until cooked through and browned on one side.

Simmer and serve

1. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce, bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, and cook about 20 minutes.
2. Garnish with more Parmesan and chopped basil and serve with bread, pasta, or polenta.

Grower's tip: For a roasted sauce like this, meaty paste tomatoes such as Roma or San Marzano are the ones to plant. They carry less water and more flesh than a juicy slicer, so the sauce cooks down thick and rich instead of thin and watery.

The meatballs freeze well before or after baking; freeze them solid on a tray, then bag them for busy nights.

Peak-season tomatoes make this dish, and they are worth growing. Plant paste tomatoes with basil, onions, and parsley for a sauce that starts in your own rows.