This tomato sauce comes together in minutes, making it perfect for a quick pasta dish. It's a convenient way to make tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes without having to blanch, peel, or chop.
The cherry tomatoes caramelize beautifully, creating a rich, slightly sweet sauce with just a handful of ingredients, and it's easy for kids to cook too.
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine
Optional: fresh basil (or oregano or thyme)
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Sauté them for about three minutes to sear them a bit, and coat them with olive oil.
Add the garlic and basil, oregano, or thyme if using. Cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
Cover the pan and cook until the tomatoes soften.
Mash the tomatoes using a potato masher or a large fork or spoon. If there are still some whole tomatoes, pierce them with a knife before mashing them so they don't squirt everywhere.
Optional: Add the white wine.
Continue to cook uncovered for another 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes caramelize a bit.
Taste and adjust with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan and combine it with the sauce.
The basic idea of this recipe is to sauté tomatoes and garlic in olive oil and, once softened, mash them into a sauce. Thats it! Sometimes I sauté the tomatoes first, then add the garlic and other ingredients. Other times, I toss everything in at the same time and let it simmer. This recipe is just a guideline to help you find your favorite way to make this sauce.
You can also freeze summer tomatoes from the farmers' market in pint-size baggies to have flavorful summer tomatoes in the winter. Frozen tomatoes can go from the freezer to the pan.
If you don't have white wine, if the sauce is too acidic you can add a pinch of sugar.
Frozen cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes
Tomatoes packed and ready to freeze
You can also use this sauce on bruschetta or pizza.
