Summer Sauce, aka Fresh Tomato Sauce

As soon as all the fresh tomatoes hit the markets, or start maturing in your garden, you need to make this sauce!

This is just the freshest sauce to celebrate in-season, fresh, earthy sweet tomatoes.  It really doesn’t get much easier than my recipe here.  

The Simple Ingredients

This is definitely a recipe that exemplifies using the best ingredients.  There are so few, that poor quality will be found out in the final dish.  Use the best that you can find, it will be worth it.  This is truly a marriage of glorious summer produce, and the best pantry staples you should try and invest in.

• Fresh Tomatoes: I recommend Roma or Plum tomatoes.  They are the most meaty, and least watery.  That’s not to say you can’t use any other tomato you happen to have on hand.  You just need to adjust the method slightly to cook out the excess water. More on that later.
• Garlic: fresh garlic, grated or minced.  I usually count on one small to medium clove per person.  If you are cooking for children, you may need to adjust this slightly.
• Olive Oil: you don’t need to use the best stuff to sauté the garlic in, but if you have a lovely grassy or peppery olive oil, it will make the perfect finish to this ‘sauce’.
• Tomato Paste: While we are cooking down the fresh tomatoes to intensify their flavour, a little tomato paste will add some oomph.  It is especially vital if you are using a more watery tomato.
• Salt and Pepper: kosher salt, and freshly cracked pepper for finishing.  You can use regular ground pepper to add to the tomatoes as they simmer.
• Optional: Balsamic vinegar.  Use this if you find that the tomatoes, once they have simmered down, are still on the acidic side.  The type of tomato, or just how they grew in the soil this particular year can affect the acidic nature of the tomatoes.  Give your sauce a taste at the end before serving.  If you find that it has a pronounced acidic flavour, drizzling a very small amount of good balsamic vinegar into the sauce and stirring it through may be just what is needed.  The sweetness of this vinegar will balance out the acid.
• Parmigiano-Reggiano: Use the good stuff, not the pre-shredded found in cardboard or plastic jar.  This will not only give that bit of salty finish, but as you stir a good amount through the sauce and pasta, it will help give the sauce a bit of creamy body.  And yes, if you have Grana Padano, Peccorino etc on hand, they will work just as good.
• Basil: Fresh garden basil is all you need for bright herby contrast to this sauce.  Thinly sliced, and stirred through the sauce at the very end.  And a bit more for garnish if you so wish.
• Pasta: a classic choice is spaghetti.  Of course, linguini, bucatini, or even rigatoni or shells will work just fine.  Cook as per the package directions.  But save a bit of the pasta water, just in case, more on that to follow in the Method.

Sure you could also add a finely diced yellow onion, but it isn’t necessary.

Method, for Four Servings

You will need two medium to large Roma tomatoes per person.  If you are using heirloom tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, or tomatoes on the vine from the grocer, count on the same two person, plus an extra one or two.  This is because the meat to water ratio in these other tomatoes is skewed to the water, and it will take an extra tomato or so to make up the difference.

Start by cutting a small slice off of one side of each clean tomato.  Place this side against the large-holed side of a box grater set over a bowl.  Grate the tomato till all that you are left with is the outer skin in your hands.  Continue till all the tomatoes are grated into the bowl.

Heat olive oil in a medium to large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the minced garlic and simmer till fragrant but not turning golden brown, about one minute or so.  Add the grated tomatoes into the pot with the garlic.  Bring to a bubble, and place a lid over the pot, but leave a good inch or so to let steam leave the pot.  Simmer till some of the watery liquid has evaporated.  The length of time will depend on the type of tomatoes you are using, but for Roma tomatoes you will probably need about 15 minutes. Adding a tablespoon or so of tomato paste will intensify the finished flavour, and will especially help in thickening the sauce if you used a more watery tomato.

Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper.  Taste.  Is it overly acidic?  If so, a small drizzle of good balsamic vinegar is all that you will need to balance it all out.  A drizzle of good olive oil is all you need to finish this sauce.

Meanwhile, prepare the pasta of choice (usually 2-3 oz of dry pasta per person) per the package directions in well salted water.  Set aside 1/2 cup or so of the pasta water, and drain the rest of the pasta.  Add this pasta directly into the pot with the sauce. Also add in a generous handful of chopped basil, as well as 1/2 cup of grated cheese.  Stir through.  If by accident you allowed the sauce to reduce too much, and you would like the finished dish to be a bit looser, add some of the reserved pasta water and stir through till you get the consistency you like.

Serve up with additional chopped basil, more grated cheese, and a good crank or two of cracked pepper.

Final Thoughts

As you can see from above, this is a pretty easy recipe.  The hardest part of the recipe is mincing the garlic.  Grating the tomatoes is just fun!  Feel free to grate the tomatoes and prepare the sauce earlier in the day if you desire.  It can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge till needed.  It will warm up in minutes while the pasta cooks.

Add a dollop of ricotta, burrata, or even whipped cottage cheese to each serving, for a bit of extra creamy good and protein (especially if you use whipped cottage cheese, I will include the method in the recipe below)

You can also add poached shrimp, or even baked shrimp.  Even crumbling in jarred tuna fish, or leftover rotisserie chicken will work great.  We usually like it just as it is, with a garden salad, just for the ease and light eating we crave in the summer.  If you like this dish, you must check out my Bruschetta Pasta or Horiatiki Village Pasta Salad or Easy Breezy Lemon Pasta.

If you make this easy and bright Fresh Tomato Summer Sauce, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

5 from 2 votes

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Summer Sauce, aka Fresh Tomato Sauce

This simple but flavourful sauce is a celebration of summer's freshest tomatoes. Combining grated tomatoes, garlic, basil, grated cheese and pasta will become a family favourite, a dish you will make weekly till summer's tomatoes are a memory.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, North American

Keyword fresh tomato sauce, summer sauce, tomato sauce, whipped cottage cheese

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 8 medium to large Roma or Plum tomatoes, see Notes
• 3-4 medium cloves of garlic, minced or grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• kosher salt and black pepper
• balsamic vinegar, optional
• 8-12 oz up to 300g dried pasta, prepared as per the package directions, the amount depends on the appetite of whom you are feeding
• 4 tbsp fresh chopped basil, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, see Notes
• fresh cracked black pepper for finishing
• Good extra virgin olive oil for finishing
• Optional: a dollop of ricotta, fiore di latte, or even whipped cottage cheese for finishing

Instructions

1. Start by cutting a small slice off of one side of each clean tomato.  Place this side against the large-holed side of a box grater set over a bowl.  Grate the tomato till all that you are left with is the outer skin in your hands.  Continue till all the tomatoes are grated into the bowl.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium to large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the minced garlic and simmer till fragrant but not turning golden brown, about one minute or so.

3. Add the grated tomatoes into the pot with the garlic.  Bring to a good simmer, but reduce if simmering too vigorously. You may place a lid over the pot, but leave a good inch or so to let steam leave the pot.  Simmer till a good amount of the liquid has evaporated.  The length of time will depend on the type of tomatoes you are using, but for Roma tomatoes you will probably need about 15 minutes. You don't want all the liquid gone, just enough to help 'thicken' the tomatoes to create a substantial sauce

4. Optional: If you want more oomph, or are using a different type of tomato, you may want to add a tbsp of tomato paste to the tomatoes as they are reducing, this will help give the tomatoes some stability.

5. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Start with 1/2 tsp of each Taste.  Is it overly acidic?  If so, a small drizzle of good balsamic vinegar is all that you will need to balance it all out.

6. Meanwhile, prepare the pasta of choice (usually 2 oz of dry pasta per person) per the package directions in well salted water.  Set aside 1/2 cup or so of the final pasta water, and drain the rest of the pasta.  Add this pasta directly into the pot with the sauce. Also add in a generous handful of chopped basil, as well as 1/2 cup of grated cheese.  Stir through.  If by accident you allowed the sauce to reduce too much, and you would like the finished dish to be a bit looser, add some of the reserved pasta water till you get the consistency you desire.

7. Divide among four pasta bowls, and finish with a drizzle of good olive oil, crack of black pepper, chopped basil and more cheese, just because!
8. Dollop fresh cheese on top to stir into your pasta, to give it some extra oomph or protein, especially if you use whipped cottage cheese.
9. See blog post for extra details and serving suggestions.

Recipe Notes

If using medium heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes, use two per person, plus an extra one or two, depending on how large they are. These tomatoes container more water and less flesh, so the extra tomato will make up for this. It will also take longer to cook the water down if using these tomatoes. Feel free to add a tbsp of tomato paste or more to help give these tomatoes some substance.
Feel free to use any good quality cheese that you will grate fresh before serving.
How to make Whipped Cottage Cheese: transfer one container of cottage cheese (I like to use a 4% to 6% milk fat cottage cheese) to a blender or food processor. Add 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. Blend till smooth. If you find it too thick, add milk one teaspoon at a time till you get a smooth, spreadable cheese. It works great in scrambled eggs, flavoured for dips, even added to sauces instead of creme fraiche or sour cream etc. It is high in protein and low in fat, depending on which style you use.