Creamy Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

Seasonal and fresh as can be, this silky, creamy, slow-roasted tomato sauce does not contain any cream!  All you need to create this luscious sauce is 2 pounds or so of cherry tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil, oregano, and garlic.  My sauce has a golden hue due to the combination of yellow and red cherry tomatoes. I used Sun Gold (yellow) and Sweet Million (red) cherry tomatoes because they are the most plentiful in my garden right now but any kind of tomato will work in this slow-roasted recipe. 

If you don't have a garden, the next best thing is to visit a local farmers' market for freshly picked tomatoes.  Many grocery stores stock locally grown tomatoes too.  I love walking in my garden in the morning to see what is ripe for picking.  I grow poblano peppers, little cucumbers (See my Mom's Refrigerator Pickle recipe here), cherry tomatoes, big heirloom tomatoes which are just starting to ripen, plus lots of herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano, marjoram, tarragon and a few varieties of thyme.  

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and put them on a baking sheet.  Cover them with plenty of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, sliced garlic and lots of fresh basil and oregano and pop them in a 250 F preheated oven for about 3 hours.  No tossing or turning, just let them roast away.  

When you pull them out of the oven they will be soft and intensely flavorful!  Wait a few minutes to allow the tomatoes to cool a bit, then scoop the tomatoes, herbs and garlic out of the olive oil with a slotted spoon and place half of them into a saucepan. Place the other half of the roasted tomatoes in a tall measuring bowl and blend with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until almost smooth then add them to the other tomatoes in the saucepan.  Stir in 1 generous tablespoon of butter and heat gently while you prepare the pasta.  Be sure to strain and save some of the oil from the baking sheet for bread dipping! 

Add the sauce to your cooked pasta, toss gently and enjoy! So easy and the freshest-tasting pasta sauce you will ever make.  

Notes:  

• If you use larger tomatoes, scoop out as many seeds as you can before roasting.  Cut into even pieces.  
• Adding 1 chopped onion is optional
• Strain and save the oil from the roasting pan to use as a dip for crusty bread
• These slow-roasted tomatoes can also be used as a topping for bruschetta along with some burrata cheese. 

Creamy Cherry Tomato Pasta

This makes approximately 4 side-dish servings of pasta

Printable Recipe

2 pounds (I used a little more) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 

8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

8-10 fresh oregano leaves, chopped

3 cloves garlic, sliced very thin

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter (reserved for reheating the sauce) 

1 pound dried pasta of your choice

Freshly chopped Italian parsley for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Arranged cut tomatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Scatter sliced garlic and herbs over the tomatoes. 

Drizzle all over with olive oil .  

Roast, uncovered until tomatoes are very tender, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours. 

Transfer with a slotted spoon to a saucepan.  (Don't throw out the oil.  Strain it and use it for dipping crusty bread.)

Remove about half of the tomatoes, together with herbs and garlic, and place in a deep mixing bowl and blend with an immersion blender (or use a regular blender) until just barely smooth.  Return to the saucepan.  

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the sauce and heat gently while you prepare the pasta.  I used Campanelle pasta but use any pasta you wish and prepare as directed on the package.

Drain cooked pasta and place in a serving bowl.  Add the tomato sauce, toss gently, top with some freshly chopped Italian parsley and enjoy! 

Homemade 'Chunky' Tomato Sauce

Hello!  I hope everyone is enjoying these last precious days of summer!  I've been doing my best to put the blog on hold to enjoy these last, glorious days. For the most part, it has been beautiful here, so there have been lots of golf and outdoor activities with family and friends.

Last week, on one rainy, chilly day, when a golf date with my husband was rained out, I decided to use the abundance of tomatoes I had on the kitchen counter to make tomato sauce.  Not to enjoy now, but to enjoy when the weather gets cold and pasta nights will be even more welcomed. 

This has been a banner tomato year.  I've read that others around the country have been enjoying a bountiful year as well. Even today, I harvested six gorgeous, big tomatoes. The other crazy thing about this summer is that we have barely had any mosquitoes all summer.  Now that is impressive!  All summer to enjoy the patio in the evening and not be chased indoors by mosquitoes.  Priceless!

I picked one HUGE tomato called, Mr. Stripey, that weighed over a pound and was over 5 inches long! I read not-so-stellar reviews of this tomato and I'm glad I gave it a try. It performed very well in my garden.

You can see by the slight yellow tinge to my tomato sauce that I used a few of those yellow and red striped tomatoes in this sauce. 

I tried a new-to-me recipe and loved it!  Very loosely adapted from this recipe, I altered the cooking method, tomato preparation and ingredients slightly, but it was the list of ingredients that made me choose it in the first place.  It is loaded with flavor!

The tomatoes were prepped by using the boiling water/ice bath method to remove the skins. After dicing, I drained the chopped tomatoes in a mesh colander to remove excess juice so the sauce wouldn't be too juicy.

After it was cool, it was transferred it to zipper bags and frozen to enjoy on a cool night in Autumn.  If you find yourself still picking tomatoes, or have a local farmers' market where you can buy them, please give this recipe a try.  It was so good, it was hard not to keep eating it out of the pan!  It is a 'chunky' style sauce and there are the seeds are left in it.  It neither of those things bother you, you will love it.

Homemade 'Chunky' Tomato Sauce

Adapted loosely from All Recipes

Printable Recipe

Update:  I made another batch of this recently and decided to use an immersion blender to smooth the sauce just a bit.  I know we'll enjoy it either way!

Note:  This recipe represents a half recipe of the original, which was all of the tomatoes I had on hand.  Double if you have lots of tomatoes.  

2 onions, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
About 5-6 pounds of whole, garden tomatoes
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoons dried basil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/8 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/8 cup white sugar
1 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (optional to use when you are ready to use the sauce)

Prepare a large pot of water to boil.  Have a large bowl of ice water ready next to the pot when the water is boiling.  Cut a shallow 'X' across the non-stem end of the tomato. Drop 3-4 whole tomatoes into the boiling water.  When the skin has cracked, about 1 minute or so, remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon to the ice water bath.  Repeat with all of the tomatoes.  Remove the skin from the tomatoes and core them.  Chop the tomatoes into about 1/2 inch pieces and place in a colander to drain for about 30 minutes. 

In a large stock pot over medium heat, saute the the onion, garlic, green pepper in the canola oil.  Stir often and watch carefully to that it doesn't burn. When the onion is transparent, add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, parsley, sugar, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook for about 2 hours on very low heat, stirring frequently.

Let sauce cool and pour sauce into quart size freezer containers.

Will keep in freezer for 3-4 months or longer if you have a deep freeze.

When ready to use sauce, you can stir in can of tomato paste, if desired, but I found it tasted great on its own.

TIP:  If using freezer bags, after filling, place flat on a baking sheet in freezer until fully frozen (about 2 hours) so that may be stored flat.

Grilled Chicken Pasta with Tomato and Eggplant Sauce

I still have an overabundance of homegrown ripe tomatoes with two large baking pans on my kitchen counter filled with them. Not a bad position to be in because we dearly love homegrown tomatoes but scary when it comes to using them all before they become overripe.  This year, I added San Marzano tomatoes to my garden just so I could make tomato sauce. 

I am also growing eggplant in a container on the patio for the first time.

I have many other eggplant recipes bookmarked, but the first one I wanted to make was this tomato and eggplant sauce to take advantage of all of those ripe tomatoes. The inspiration for the recipe is here.

This sauce can be used for chicken or fish alone, pasta alone, or for a combination of both as I did.  Even if you're not fond of eggplant, I think you will still love this recipe.  The eggplant adds just enough flavor but not so that it's overpowering. And, if you need further coaxing, eggplant is very healthy!  It's loaded with fiber, vitamins and minerals and is very low in calories. 

When I asked my husband how if he enjoyed the recipe, he responded "We can have this anytime!".  High praise, indeed :)  This weekend, I'm planning on preparing the same sauce to serve over grilled salmon. 

Grilled Chicken Pasta with Tomato-Eggplant Sauce

Adapted from Cooking Scout

Printable Recipe

4 servings

This fast and easy sauce makes a delicious topping for grilled chicken and fish. It is also wonderful over pasta.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to a uniform thickness of about 1/2 inch thick

1 pound of pasta of your choice

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups unpeeled eggplant, trimmed and chopped into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces
4 cups (I used a little more) plum (or regular) tomatoes, trimmed and chopped into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces, along with their juice

Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon of the oil; rub with one minced clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon each chopped oregano and parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 8 hours. If you don't have access to the fresh herbs, you may substitute dried herbs but reduce to 1 teaspoon each.  If you have Mr. & Mrs. Dash Original seasoning it also makes a wonderful seasoning for grilled chicken. If using dried seasonings, also rub the chicken with oil before seasoning. 

Microwave chopped eggplant, in large microwave-safe bowl with 3 tablespoons water, covered, for about 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Drain excess liquid.

Cook the remaining 3 cloves of minced garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet preheated over medium heat for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the chopped tomatoes, eggplant and remaining 1 tablespoon oregano, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook over medium-high to high heat 5 to 8 minutes or until eggplant is tender and sauce is slightly thickened. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.

Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and cook pasta of choice (I used Capellini or Angel Hair pasta) according to package directions.

Oil grill grate and heat grill. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or coals for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in center, turning once. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. 

Place one chicken breast per person on a bed of pasta and spoon tomato-eggplant sauce over the top.  Sprinkle with a garnish a freshly chopped parsley and enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Pasta with Herbed Breadcrumbs "Montreal"

This is such an easy and wonderful fresh tomato pasta dish! I named it 'Montreal' because I first saw it on La Table de Nana's blog just a short while ago and Monique is a Canadian blogger. You can see Monique's version by clicking on the link.  I knew when my cherry tomatoes started to ripen, this would be one one of the first things I wanted to make with them.

The thing that intrigued me the most of about this pasta sauce is that you simply place all of the ingredients in a bowl in the morning and let them 'marinate' all day. The smell coming from the kitchen is amazing!

Fresh cut-up tomatoes, fresh chopped basil, a minced garlic clove or two and a good 1/3 cup or so of extra virgin olive oil - that's it! I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and stirred the tomato mixture occasionally throughout the day.

The other thing that was mentioned was the addition of  homemade croutons pulverized with more fresh basil which is sprinkled over the pasta and sauce.  I love to make homemade croutons with a loaf of good French bread from a local bakery.  I rub both sides of the slices of bread with olive oil, sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper, cut them into cubes and bake them on a baking sheet in a 350F degree oven for about 10 minutes.  My husband loves these so much that now I include the trimmed crusts when I bake them and he eats them as a snack before dinner :)

After the croutons have cooled, add them to a food processor or blender with a several leaves of basil and mince into breadcrumbs.

I warmed the marinated tomato mixture gently on the stove while the pasta was cooking.  Topped with the homemade basil breadcrumbs and some freshly ground Parmigiana Reggiano - this was just wonderful!

Thank you, Monique!