While Summer is generally a time of tomato abundance and surplus, sometimes you have a surplus that's too much to use up in salad, but too little to can or sauce the old fashioned way.
Enter this easy 15 Minute Fresh Tomato Sauce with just five essential ingredients: tomatoes, onion, garlic, herb(s) of choice, and enough olive oil. (That *enough* part is important for reasons I'll explain in a bit.)
EASY 15 MINUTE FRESH TOMATO SAUCE
Sauces 3 to 4 servings of pasta, depending on how saucy you like your pasta
This is a basic recipe to which you can add any number of other seasonings like crushed red chili flakes, capers, olives, lemon zest, anchovies, grated Parmesan... Just make sure to adjust the salt down accordingly if you add salty seasonings.
If you only have half a pound of tomatoes and 2 mouths to feed, you can totally halve the recipe with no problem.
- 1/4 of an onion, minced
- 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley and/or basil or 2 to 3 teaspoons of dried parsley and/or basil and/or Italian herbs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 generous pound of fresh tomatoes cut into roughly 3/4" pieces (about 6 large plum type or 5 medium of the fatter round ones like the ones you buy for burgers, you know, the kind whose generic name I can't think of at the moment)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to start
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
I used my wok last night because, well, it was already on the stove because I didn't put it away, but a 10 to 12-inch saute pan or even a Dutch oven would work just fine.
1) Pour the 1/4 cup of oil into your pot or pan and turn the heat to medium high. When the oil is preheated, but not smoking (i.e., when a piece of onion sizzles but doesn't splatter when you put it in), add your onion, garlic and herbs and saute them for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent.
2) Add in your tomatoes, salt and pepper and 2 Tablespoons of liquid (water, wine or unsalted stock) and gently stir to evenly incorporate with the aromatics. If your tomatoes are specially tangy, add a pinch or two of sugar to help mellow and round out the acid in them.
3) Turn the heat up to high and bring your mixture to a sputtering boil for 30 seconds, then turn the heat back down to medium high, cover completely, and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes at a very active simmer (you should hear the sauce cooking even with the lid on), giving it a good stir or two halfway to ensure that the sauce cooks evenly. Remember to replace the cover after you stir.
If you're going to add any of the additional seasonings I mentioned before, this halfway point is a good time to add them.
With this volume of tomatoes and this short a cook time, the additional heat from the amount of oil we're using along with the relatively high heat - oil not only gets hotter faster than solids and other liquids, but it just has the capacity to get hotter, period - will help the natural sugars in the tomatoes caramelize and produce not only a sweetness but a depth of flavor you wouldn't achieve without it.
4) Adjust the seasoning as needed, and !Voila! your sauce is done. You can either spoon it over your pasta, or toss your freshly cooked pasta with the sauce then serve.
Last night, I used shrimp as our protein. Shrimp, or seafood of any kind, tends to cook quickly, so it's a great option when you're strapped for time. I used about a pound of shelled and deveined shrimp and sauteed it in a well oiled medium hot pan until it *just* turned orange on both sides. Any more than that and your shrimp begins to get exponentially more rubbery with each passing second.
Sauteed chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes is also a great option for adding protein. Storebought rotisserie chicken, even easier.
Quick, easy, delicious, balanced.
Hope you enjoy. :)
shinae
Full album HERE.
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