Say you're growing some Roma tomatoes. What are you supposed to DO with them? I know that Romas, also known as "paste tomatoes," are good for sauces because they aren't very juicy. They cook down well into concentrated flavor, allegedly. So I decided to try making from-scratch sauce from the Romas we've been growing in our hugels this year. This 5-ingredient recipe was inspired by Youtuber Joshua Weissman, who was in turn inspired by Marcella Hazan.
My first test used an onion and I found the sauce too sweet for my taste. So this recipe uses only garlic. Here's what I came up with!
Ingredients:
7-10 Roma tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano, parsley (optional)
salt and pepper
1/2 pound of spaghetti
Romano cheese or favorite topping
Assembly:
1. First you'll be peeling the fresh tomatoes. Boil a pot of water and set up a bowl of ice water on the side. Cut a cross in the tip of each tomato, then throw in the boiling water for ONE MINUTE ONLY.
2. After one minute, scoop out the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and put in the ice water.
Then remove each tomato from ice water and peel it. The peel should come off pretty easily. You can also cut out the tough stem area at this point. (Yes, some of my Romas have spots. That seems normal.)
3. Next dice the peeled tomatoes into small pieces.
Also, peel 3 cloves of garlic. Finally, if you have an herb garden or fresh herbs in your fridge, grab some fresh herbs of your choice. I used small sprigs of basil, oregano, and parsley, roughly chopped.
4. Now it's time to cook! In your saucepan, heat up a generous amount of olive oil--around 2 Tablespoons. Throw in the chopped tomatoes and begin to cook them down. Mine released some moisture and I kept them covered to try to capture all the possible sauce. (Later though, I removed the lid to help concentrate the sauce.) It's a nice idea to squish the tomato pieces a bit with a wooden spoon as you cook. Put in one of the garlic cloves, either chopped or squeezed in a press. Also add the green herbs.
Cook for about 5-10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat a pot of water to boiling for cooking your spaghetti. I saved the water from the tomato-peeling process and added a bit more water to that and set it to heat up on a separate element.
Around when the pasta water is boiling, put some salt and pepper in your tomato sauce and squeeze in another clove of garlic. Cook your spaghetti according to package instructions (mine had a 10-minute cooking time).
6. Right around the time the spaghetti is done, squeeze the last clove of garlic into the sauce and turn it off. You should have a nice, chunky sauce. It is not naturally thick (it doesn't become tomato paste), but if you've taken the lid off at the right times, it shouldn't be too watery either.
7. To serve, just divide up your cooked spaghetti and spoon the sauce on top in the ratio you enjoy. I like to top with grated romano cheese too. In our home, this recipe served two adults, with a little bit of second helpings.
Happy Fall to you, I hope that you are enjoying some fruits of the season wherever you are!
