Heirloom Tomato Sauce

• 3-4 small heirloom tomatoes
• 4-5 fat cloves garlic, crushed well
• basil
• olive oil
• salt

Serves 2

1. quickly blanch tomatoes in simmering water for about 10 seconds. Let cool, peel away skins.
2. chop peeled tomatoes into cubes (leave seeds and goo ;) )
3. heat drizzle of oil in wide skillet, add garlic and saute until sizzling and fragrant (1-2 minutes)
4. toss in all tomatoes, salt well
5. add basil sprigs, turn up heat and bring to boil
6. reduce to simmer, use basil sprigs to stir sauce around
7. after several minutes, tomatoes will break down almost completely. Stir frequently.
8. at the last minute, remove sprigs of basil. Season to taste, drizzle in a bit more oil.
9. toss a bit of chopped basil in
10. toss with nicely al dente pasta, and cook a couple minutes more
11. put in bowls, garnish with cheese

Recipe transcribed from the description on the Hedonia blog

Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce

Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce
Adapted from The Best American Recipes 2000 via Epicurious.com

Oddly, the original recipe calls for 1/3 cup olive oil, but never tells you what to do with more than a couple tablespoons of that. I found three to four tablespoons to be just right.

3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound dried fusilli (corkscrew) or farfalline (butterfly) pasta
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the oil.

Place the tomatoes cut side up in the dish.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheeses, and garlic and toss with a fork to mix well. Sprinkle the bread-crumb mixture over the tomatoes, making sure that each cut side is well covered with the crumb mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then the final tablespoon of olive oil. Bake until the tomatoes are cooked through and starting to brown on top, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Time the pasta so it finishes cooking about the time the tomatoes are ready to come out of the oven.

From Smitten Kitchen

Summer Vegetable Spaghetti

INGREDIENTS
2 cups small yellow onions, cut in eighths
2 cups chopped, peeled, fresh, ripe tomatoes (about 1 lb.)
2 cups thinly sliced yellow and green squash (about 1 lb.)
1-1/2 cups cut fresh green beans (about 1/2 lb.)
2/3 cups water
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 lb. uncooked whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine first 10 ingredients in large saucepan; cook for 10 minutes, then stir in tomato paste. Cover and cook gently, 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
2. Cook spaghetti in unsalted water according to package directions.
3. Spoon sauce over drained hot spaghetti and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top.

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