Saucy Tomatoes

Monday, August 20, 2007

I have tomatoes coming at me from all corners. I’m growing Roma tomatoes in pots in my back patio at home. I’ve ordered slicing tomatoes from my CSA. And Jersey tomatoes are readily available at the market at the end of my block. The Romas, in particular, are great for sauce.

Here’s a recipe I used to make fresh tomato sauce, which was a featured recipe from my CSA Newsletter, and adapted from Still Life With Menu by Mollie Katzen. The starred items were locally grown.

Ingredients:
4-5 medium-sized tomatoes* (I used a combination of homegrown Romas, my CSA’s slicing tomatoes, and Jersey salad tomatoes. I don’t recommend the latter—get meaty tomatoes for sauce)
1 medium-sized onion*, finely chopped
olive oil
fresh basil* and flat-leafed parsley*, finely chopped
salt and pepper
your favorite cheese (I used Pecorino Romano)

Directions:
Peel the tomatoes—score them on the bottom with an X, then scald them in boiling water for a couple of seconds. You should be able to peel them from the X.

Remove seeds if you want (I don’t), and chop finely.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, and saute the onions until transparent. Add tomatoes, another tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for a little bit to warm up. Add basil and parsley, and stir.

Serve over pasta, top with cheese.