The Freshest Tomato Sauce



This is probably my favorite tomato sauce of all time. It doesn't have a lot of ingredients but it's light and good and the taste is so pure and lovely. It is the true essence of a tomato!







Ingredients:



24 small very ripe fresh tomatoes (Roma preferably)

5 Large cloves of Garlic/cut in half

Olive Oil

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary – chopped

2 sprigs of fresh parsley – chopped

A handful of fresh basil leaves – coarsely chopped

1 hot pepper (optional)

Salt to taste

Pepper



Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil...In the meantime assemble your Garlic/Basil/Parsley and Rosemary







While the water is boiling - cover the bottom of a large saucepan with Olive Oil. Heat on medium and saute the Garlic Cloves (and hot pepper if using) until brown. Remove from the oil and discard. Turn off the heat until the tomatoes are prepped and chopped.







Plunge your tomatoes into the boiling water. When you see the first tomato split it's skin (45 seconds?)...it's time to remove them. Retain the tomato water to boil the pasta if you like.







Let the tomatoes cool a bit or peel them under cold running water...Trim off the ends and any hard core.







Roma tomatoes really don't have a lot of seeds but some other varieties do. If they bother you just cut the tomato in half and scoop them out.







Chop the tomatoes into a rough dice (no scrunching or milling). Add about a tablespoon of salt to the mix and let it drain in a colander over a bowl to retain the juices. I do this because some tomatoes are very wet and it really dilutes the sauce and takes a long time to cook down. These tomatoes were very good and I didn't get a lot of juice. Keep the juice!







Heat up the oil and when hot, add the tomatoes. You'll get a nice sizzle sound. Simmer over medium heat for about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally until thickened. If it gets too thick...add some of the retained juice.



Chop the rosemary and parsley and add it about 15 minutes into the cooking.







Taste and add salt if needed (tomatoes need a lot of salt to bring out their flavor) Add some pepper and after cooking, the sauce will look something like this.



Meanwhile...Prepare your pasta. I find this sauce is good on most but really goes well with a small rigatoni or penne.







When the pasta is ready...drain it and put it back into the pot. Chop and add the basil and a few scoops of the sauce along with a couple of tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Gently mix it all up well.



Pretty isn't it?







Serve it with an additional bit of the sauce on top with a sprinkling of fresh parmesan cheese. This recipe would definitely serve 4 easy and probably 6 appetizer portions.



Mangia!



