One of the many challenges with our new schedule is trying to not make the same things over and over. There are several nights a week where I need to make a crock-pot meal OR prepare something in advance that can be reheated when we walk in late. This week we added Fridays to our routine, but that brought along with it a hidden treasure. Andy doesn’t usually work on Friday, so I can now plant that on Friday, I leave at least a portion of dinner for him to complete- most likely on the grill. How can that end up badly? He’d grill all winter if I let him, so this may just be his opportunity!
Anyway, this week we pulled out some pork chops to thaw and I gave them a simple marinade in a basil and ancho chili rub. I thought they’d be perfect with a light pasta on the side, and my wheels started turning as to how I would accomplish this four hours before dinner time.
This pasta sauce ended up being the quickest thing I think I’ve ever made. It was ready before the pasta finished boiling up, and since that only takes eleven minutes, you know this sauce was ready quickly. Here are the ingredients I used, minus the salt and pepper.
Really, that’s all I used. I think I ended up not using all of the tomatoes here. I chopped tomatoes until I had 4 cups. I used random heirloom tomatoes from the garden- you can use whatever you can find. I really liked using the blend of different colors. The greenish one at the top is called an Ananas Noire. You also see a German Red Strawberry and a few Brave General tomatoes for anyone interested. The onion I did not grow myself, but the garlic and the herbs also came from my garden.
So I began with a drizzle of oil in a pan, which I heated over medium heat, and then added the small onion, sliced. I cooked the onion for a few minutes- enough for it to soften and just barely begin to look like it was thinking about carmelizing. I didn’t want carmelization at all, but I did want them to be cooked enough to release their natural sweetness. Once the onions were there, I added my minced garlic. I used two cloves, which was very good, but I think I would have liked one more even better. The garlic cooked with the onion for about 30 seconds or so, and then I dumped in the chopped tomatoes with their juices.
While those began working, 8 basil leaves got a quick chiffonade, and the thyme leaves were stripped from their sprigs. I added those to the pot with a pinch of salt and a grind of fresh pepper.
And that was literally it. I didn’t want the sauce to cook long- I still wanted chunks of tomato, and I didn’t want that long, slow-cooked flavor. This was supposed to be a fresh tomato sauce, so I cooked it for maybe two minutes. Just enough for the tomatoes to begin to break down, and then I pulled it off the heat. I spent less than ten minutes on this, and it turned out wonderful. Because there was nothing perishable in the sauce, I slid it to the side of the stove and left it there. The pasta I cooked and put in a bowl in the fridge. While we were heading back home later in the evening, Abigail texted Andy to turn on the pasta sauce, and when I got home, I slid the now cold pasta into the re-warmed sauce, and we had magic in seconds.
It just doesn’t get easier than this, and with tomatoes in abundance everywhere, you really should make this sauce! It was great tossed with spaghetti, but honestly, a person could start with this and add a few cups of veggie broth and you’d have an amazing vegetarian tomato soup as well. Adjust the tomatoes and herbs to your liking, and you have a winning dish that tastes incredible. Make it while you can, because canned tomatoes aren’t going to cut it here. This was so good, it didn’t even need the usual Parmesan cheese garnish we put on pasta around here.
Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce
serves about 8 people as a generous side dish
1 pound spaghetti 2 teaspoons olive oil1 small onion — sliced
2 cloves garlic — finely chopped 4 cups garden fresh tomatoes– cored and diced, save as many of the juices as possible
8 basil leaves — finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme — finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions, set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion slices. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes, or until the onions have softened considerably. You aren’t looking for any kind of browning, just softening. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the tomatoes and their juices. Cook for a minute or two, and then add your fresh herbs as well as salt and pepper. Cook for another minute, and taste to check for seasoning. At this point you could add some crushed red pepper flake if you’d like to add some heat. If the seasoning is good, take the sauce off the heat.
Toss with the cooked pasta and serve immediately.