Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Uses for fresh summer tomatoes

Saturday, we made a lovely steak and had some pasta with a fresh tomato, basil, garlic, onion, etc. sauce.

To make said sauce, first make cross-shaped slices in the bottoms of four roma tomatoes. Place in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes, until skins start to split, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Peel. Repeat (less cooking) with a variety of cherry tomatoes. Meanwhile, slice 2 onions and start to heat over medium heat with a bit of olive oil. When these have sweated, add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic and some red pepper flake. Then chop the peeled roma tomatoes and add them to the pan.


Break the tomatoes up as you go (be careful not to overheat the sauce, the seeds from the tomatoes could burn and turn the sauce bitter. Alternatively, you could seed the tomatoes, but that's a PIA when you just don't feel like it). Add the peeled cherry tomatoes after 15 minutes or so. I've been known to drop a splash of red wine in at this point, maybe a handful of parm, too. Chop several handfuls of basil and add that to the mix right at the end. Prepare any type of pasta according to the package directions, but let the pasta cook its remaining minute or two in the sauce.

Toss, serve with the lovely steak and you are all set. Some nice wine doesn't hurt either.

1 comment:

eirishis said...

Hehehe...I was reading quickly and thought you suggested to throw in "a handful of porn."