This simple recipe is the perfect quick dinner for the end of summer, when fresh garden produce is everywhere! Ready in as little as 20 minutes, it’s the best way to enjoy a delicious fresh supper without turning on the oven!
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This Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce recipe is perfect for when your garden is pumping out ripe, juicy tomatoes faster than you can think of ways to use them and you have a happy little basil plant that keeps threatening to go to seed.
In other words, this is an end of summer recipe.
It’s a simple recipe, which means it depends heavily on using good ingredients – in this case, fresh, ripe tomatoes that have never seen the inside of a fridge (whether they come from your garden or a local market – avoid tomatoes that were shipped across the country).
To me, this pasta is full of the taste of summer – ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, a bit of olive oil and some goat cheese to make it creamy. Toss the fresh tomato sauce with hot pasta (my favourite comfort food, whether it’s summer or not!) and you can have this on the table in 20 minutes, if you need to!
Related: How to Freeze Goat Cheese
And if you don’t have a garden, you can still enjoy fresh herbs! Check out our post: Fresh Herbs: Why They’re Cheaper Than You Think.
PS – You can easily make this using gluten-free pasta – YUM!
Pasta With Fresh Tomato Sauce (No Cook!) – Step-by-Step Instructions
Ingredients for Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
In a large bowl, toss together sliced or chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, slivers of fresh basil, olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix gently and set aside at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, up to 2 hours (cover with plastic wrap).
Tip: To quickly slice basil leaves into ribbons, stack the leaves together then roll them up lengthwise. Once you have a little roll of basil leaves, use a sharp knife to slice the roll.
When you’re ready to eat, bring a large pot of very salty water to a boil.
Tip: Pasta water should be salty like the ocean, in order to give you the most delicious end result!
Cook pasta until al dente (according to package directions). Before draining the pasta, scoop out a mug of pasta water. Drain pasta (don’t rinse).
Mix goat cheese into tomato mixture.
Toss hot pasta with tomato goat cheese mixture until well combined. Add a splash of pasta water to help the sauce meld.
Serve immediately. Enjoy! 🙂
Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce (No Cook) – Common Questions & Answers:
Can I use plum tomatoes (or other large tomatoes) instead?
Yes, you can definitely use plum tomatoes for this raw tomato sauce.
Personally I’d just chop them up, but if you think the chopped tomato peel will bother you, cut an X in the bottom of each tomato and pour boiling water over them in a bowl. Let them sit for a few minutes and then the peelings should slip right off. Then you can chop and continue with the recipe.
If you use large tomatoes that aren’t paste type tomatoes, you might also want to cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze some of the juice and seeds out of the middle, so that the fresh tomato sauce isn’t too watery.
It all comes down to personal preference!
What if I don’t have time to let the sauce sit and the flavors meld?
You can certainly use the sauce as soon as your pasta is ready – it will still taste great. It will just taste even better if you can let it sit for a while!
How can I choose the best tomatoes for this raw tomato sauce?
Choose the ripest, freshest tomatoes you have access to! Definitely avoid any that have travelled across the continent to your grocery store – they won’t have nearly as much flavor. Don’t use tomatoes that you’ve refrigerated.
Why shouldn’t I store tomatoes in the fridge?
Storing tomatoes in the fridge dulls their flavor. The only time I still do it is if I have half an unused tomato that I don’t want to leave on the counter.
Did you make this Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce? Leave us a star rating below!
More delicious main courses:
Creamy Sausage Pasta (like Zuppa Tuscana in pasta form!)
Creamy Chicken Skillet with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Italian Herbs
Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes (or equal amount of plum tomatoes)*
- 10 leaves fresh basil (or more to taste)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced - or more to taste)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp wine vinegar
- 4 oz goat cheese (1/2 cup)
- 3/4 lb spaghetti (or other long pasta)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together chopped tomatoes, slivers of basil**, minced garlic, olive oil, vinegar, pepper and salt. Set aside at room temperature while you cook pasta, or up to 2 hours (cover with plastic wrap if letting tomato mixture sit longer).
- When you're ready to eat, bring a large pot of very salty water* to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Scoop out a mug of pasta water before draining pasta (don't rinse the pasta).
- Mix goat cheese into tomato mixture. Add hot pasta to the bowl and mix well to combine. Add a splash of pasta water to make it more saucy.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy! 🙂
Notes
*Water you cook pasta in should taste salty like the ocean, in order to give you the most delicious pasta results.
**The fastest way to slice basil leaves is to pile them up in a stack, then roll them into a tight little roll, lengthwise. Then use a sharp knife to slice the roll into slivers.
Nutrition
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