Flavorful sauce starts with unripened tomatoes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush olive oil lightly over the surface of one or two rimmed sheet pans (depending on size). I used two so I’d have enough room for the vegetables to lie flat. Core the tomatoes; I finally used a melon ball scoop to do this because my knife kept slipping on the hard tomatoes.

Slice the tomatoes into ¼-inch slices and spread them in one layer on the prepared pans. Cut the onion into slices and spread them across the pan(s), interspersed between the tomatoes.

Lightly salt and pepper the vegetables and drizzle on a bit of olive oil. Put the uncovered pan(s) on the middle oven racks and slow-roast for 30 minutes, switching the pans’ positions after about 15 minutes if using two pans.

While the tomatoes and onions are cooking, peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Put them with the basil leaves and the red pepper flakes in a small food processor or mini chopper and process until evenly minced.

Take the pans out of the oven, and turn up the temperature to 350 degrees. Dot the tomatoes with bits of the garlic-basil mixture. Cover the pans completely with foil and return them to the oven for 30 minutes, again switching the pans’ positions after 15 minutes.

When time’s up, remove the pans from the oven, remove the foil and let the vegetables cool a few minutes. Scrape them off the pans (including the brown bits) into a food processor or blender and blend until the sauce is consistent but still somewhat chunky. Transfer to a saucepan to heat through. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.

Toss the sauce with the prepared gnocchi or pasta. (For polenta, I'd recommend passing it separately.) To serve, garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and a few basil leaves.