Are you ready for the easiest and freshest tasting tomato sauce of the summer?
It’s that time of the summer season when those tomatoes just keep comin’! I’m not complaining! There’s so many delicious ways to cook with tomatoes, but today we’re talking dinner-on-the-table in the time it takes to cook your pasta! Really? Really!!
Super easy and so delicious! Here’s how to do it.
- 4-5 large, ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced in half through the core
- Grate each half, cut side down, leaving only the skin to discard
- Cook garlic with some olive oil for 15 seconds, then add the freshly grated tomatoes
- Add about a teaspoon of kosher salt and a glug of red wine (optional)
- Throw in a couple of sprigs of fresh basil, stems and all
- Simmer for about 15 minutes then taste and adjust seasoning
- Substitute any pasta shape for spaghetti, even fresh pasta that cooks in less than 5 minutes
What are the best tomatoes that are big on flavor?
If you’re growing tomatoes, use what you grow! If you’re heading to the farmer’s market look for San Marzano, Roma, Plum or paste tomatoes. These tomatoes carry the best flavor and texture, have less seeds and have lots of tomato without a lot of juice. Here’s a link to learn more about these kind of tomatoes.
Super Easy Fresh Tomato Sauce and Pasta
The simplest fresh tomato sauce that's big on flavor
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta spaghetti, bow ties, tortellini
- 4 large, ripe Tomatoes Your choice of any ripe tomato
- ⅓ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic finely grated
- ½ cup fresh Basil sprigs
- ⅓ cup Red wine Of drinkable quality
- 1 cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Once boiling, add pasta and cook for one minute LESS than the package instructions. You will see a very tiny white core when cut in half.
- While the pasta cooks, trim the bottom of the tomatoes, core them and slice in half through the core. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the trimmed side of the tomato into a large bowl until nothing but the skin remains. Discard the skins.
- Transfer the pasta to a colander to drain for about 5 minutes. While the tomatoes drain, heat a sauce pan to medium high heat and add the olive oil and garlic and cook stirring frequently until the garlic is fragrant-about 30 seconds.
- Add the grated tomatoes and season with a large pinch of salt. Add 2 of the basil sprigs-stem and leaves and lower the heat to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning adjustments and remove the sprigs of basil.
- Turn off the heat and add the pasta and half the Parmesan. Using tongs, toss the pasta until is coated in the sauce and the Parmesan is melted.
- Chop the remaining basil leaves and add them to the saucepan along with the remainder of the Parmesan, toss to combine.
- Divide among 4 bowls, spooning over any tomato liquid left in the saucepan. Top with more Parmesan if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
• Parmesan cheese is salty, so go easy on the salt until all the Parmesan has been added before adjusting
• Optional add in: If you have red wine open, add about 1/3 cup to the tomatoes at the beginning of the cook time.
• I used fresh tortellini that cooks in about 3 minutes to make this a super fast and easy dinner. Any fresh pasta will work for this recipe
Nutrition
Calories: 540kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 14gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gSodium: 23mgPotassium: 1008mgFiber: 7gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 2832IUVitamin C: 48mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
