Fresh Tomato Pasta

My mama has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember. We call it ‘fresh tomato pasta’ because we only make it the summer when we can get tomatoes from the farmer’s market, a friend’s garden, our backyard garden (when I remember to water). Sorry to spoil it but tomatoes from the grocery store just don’t taste the same. I made it at the beach this past week. Then had to voice memo the recipe to my best friend Kate and someone on IG. Clearly the next logic step was posting it here for posterity sake.

Ingredients:

1 small sweet onion (diced)

2-3 cloves of garlic (minced – don’t skip this step, fresh garlic makes this recipe)

2 tbls olive oil

1 tbls butter (optional)

3-5 medium tomatoes (peeled* and chopped and generously salted – I prefer coarse sea salt)

Dash of salt

Dash of pepper

Pasta of choice – our favorite is Barilla Tri-Color rotini

Fresh Parmesan

Directions:

Heat a pot of water for the pasta and cook according to directions. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan (I use one with high sides) and add butter if you wish. Add diced onion and cook until soft (8-10 minutes). Add minced garlic and stir until lightly browned (~2 minutes). Add peeled and chopped tomatoes and their juice. Let the mixture simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. Taste and add additional salt & pepper as needed. Add drained pasta and stir to allow the pasta to soak up the flavor of the sauce. Serve topped with fresh parmesan.

*Peeling tomatoes is an extra step that I swear makes the flavor better. I have a tomato knife (this peeler would work too!) that I usebut you can always put a pot of boiling water on, score the bottom with a slight ‘x’ and drop them in for 10 seconds then put them in a cold ice water bath. The skin will peel right off!

This is a go-to summer recipe for our house because comes together quickly. I can chop the tomatoes a few hours or even the night before and keep them in a container in the fridge. Same with the onion (I keep it in an ice bath). Remember, I’m not a professional. Take your own spin and let me know how it turns out.

Have a favorite family recipe that you would be able to recognize if you tried it blindfolded? Would love to hear in the comments. This one definitely falls into that category for me. Along with my mama’s potato salad, my grandma Eleanor’s Thanksgiving dressing and my grandma Jewell’s squash casserole.

Love,

KNW