real life test kitchen: angela’s fresh tomato sauce
I love this time of the year, when the tomatoes at the market are finally looking gorgeously red. Nothing says summer more to me than fresh tomato sauce. You’ll find lots of great, simple recipes for it all the foodie mags around now, but I like to follow a method I learned from an friend’s mom in Tuscany. It’s so amazingly easy. Here’s what you do: Buy ten to fifteen of the ripest plum tomatoes you can find. Boil them for a few minutes in a pot of water until the skin splits. They should still be firm. Cool them in strainer until you can handle, then peel and seed them. Toss into a food processor and give ‘em a whirl. Meanwhile, sauté some finally chopped garlic (about three cloves) in about four tablespoons of olive oil — the bottom of the pan should be fully covered. Just before it starts to brown, add in tomatoes, salt and pepper. You can add other things at this point if you like — fresh or dried herbs, peppers, whatever. I like to keep it simple. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, adding a touch of pasta water if it needs. We like over capellini. Serve with fresh Parm. Perfecto!
