Our friend and neighbor Pete has been bringing over fresh tomatoes from his abundant garden this summer, which in my view is just the coolest thing ever. Never did I imagine I would move into a neighborhood where folks on the other side of the fence would drop off home-baked cookies on your first week in the new place or where you'd find a plastic bag of sun-ripened tomatoes hanging off your mailbox! But such is our new home... I think I've moved into some kind of paradise.
This unexpected gift encouraged me to try something I've only watched in the past - making my own from scratch tomato sauce. I wanted to keep it really simple, because I knew the tomatoes would be tasty on their own. But it far exceeded my expectations, so I thought I'd share with those of you who maybe have your own tomato patches finally blossoming after all this rain! Here goes:
SAUCE FROM SCRATCH
2 tbsp butter
1/2 chopped onion
garlic (as much as you like!)
4 whole (fresh) tomatoes
1/2 lime
2 tbsp cottage cheese
1/4 cup white wine
chopped fresh basil
leftover green vegetables
1 tbsp tomato paste
Salt & pepper to taste
Bring a few quarts of water (enough to cover pasta for 2) to a boil. Throw all four whole tomatoes (with skin, stems, etc.) into the boiling water. Leave stewing for 5-7 minutes. While tomatoes are stewing, chop garlic, onion, basil, and leftover vegetables and set aside. Warm butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add onions, garlic, vegetables and basil, stirring occasionally. Now that tomatoes are ready, remove from water with slotted spoon and place in a bowl of cold water. Add pasta to boiling water and let cook. Make a thin slice in the hot tomato skin and peel the full skin from each tomato, one by one. Open up the tomatoes with your thumbs and coax out the tomato seeds into the bowl of water and set on cutting board. Add wine and lime juice to the onion mixture. Roughly chop the peeled and seeded tomatoes and add to onion mixture. Add tomato paste and salt/pepper. When pasta and sauce are cooked and at desired consistency, add cottage cheese (or heavy or sour cream) to sauce and mix well before serving.
