Summer is fading fast, but there are still some good tomatoes for the taking. I love loading up at one of our local farmer’s markets because the variety and freshness are so good. If you live in the Frederick area, there’s a marketing nearly every day of the week. I especially enjoy the Saturday morning market off of Rt. 40 near Oak Drive, and the Sunday Morning City Market, where you will find our favorite farmers, Ben & Heather Sayler, of Pleasant Hill Produce.
Here is one of my favorite ways to use a mother load of maters:
Lidia’s Raw Tomato Sauce
2 pounds tomatoes, preferably a mix of heirloom varieties
4 garlic cloves, peeled
½ teaspoon salt
6 large basil leaves, about 3 tablespoons shredded
¼ teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or more or less to taste
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Rinse the tomatoes and wipe dry. Cut out the core and any grody parts. Rough cut the regular tomatoes into 1-inch chunks and slice the cherry tomatoes in half, taking care to catch as much juice as you can.
Squeeze your peeled garlic through a press (or use a few tsp. of the jarred kind– I’m not here to judge!) Dump the garlic and salt over the tomatoes and gently stir.
Pile up the basil leaves and slice into thin strips. Put the shredded basil and the peperoncino flakes into the mixture. Pour in the oil and gently stir to coat the tomatoes and distribute the seasonings.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it marinate at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
Toss the marinated sauce with freshly cooked and drained pasta. Toss in 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese before serving.
Abondanza!
The comments are closed.
