Fresh tomatoes make a simple pasta sauce
Ripe plum tomatoes take center stage in this delicious fresh tomato sauce. Using garden fresh tomatoes, butter and basil you can make a delicious pasta sauce in less than 30 minutes.
No fresh tomatoes, no problem. You can use a 28 ounce can of whole peeled or crushed tomatoes instead.
Tomato sauce not Italian sauce
Let there be no mistake, I love everything about Italian and Mediterranean food. And a lot of our recipes feature the elements found in foods of that region. This tomato sauce is different. There’s no garlic or olive oil. WHAT?
So simple, light and delicious
This quick fresh sauce makes the most of a couple of basic ingredients. Simplicity can work magic in cooking and this recipe is a great example of that.
Back to my roots
In our post Cooking with Wine I proudly declare that I come from a meat and potatoes family. Along with meat and potatoes we used plenty of dairy products in our cooking.
In my family everything had butter. My mother fried steak in butter and then added some to the top before she served it warm. Cooking with butter and using it as a condiment was a way of life in my family. Butter in the morning, butter in the evening, butter at suppertime.
My grandmother never served pasta with tomato sauce, she served it with milk and butter, salt and pepper. I have to say it’s not bad. Don’t knock till you’ve tried it 😉.
In keeping with my roots, starting a pasta sauce with a stick of butter was natural for me. Adding fresh garden tomatoes was my own twist.
More dairy maybe?
Using cheese in this sauce is optional. When I use cheese I use grated parmesan.
If you mix the cheese into the sauce after it has finished cooking the sauce will have a little more structure to it than just the tomato and butter alone. It makes a creamier sauce. The cheese changes the flavor quite a bit also. It adds a deep saltiness that you don’t have otherwise.
And what does it taste like with the cheese? It tastes like a homemade spaghettios sauce. The label on a can of spaghettios describes the sauce as a tomato and cheese sauce and this homemade tomato sauce with cheese proves that true. Our homemade sauce is a lot better in every way but it is reminiscent of the flavor of the canned stuff. If you ever liked spaghettios, try making this recipe using cheese in the sauce.
Here’s what YOU WILL NEED:
| 12-14 fresh ripe plum tomatoes (you can use round eating tomatoes too) Out of season you can use a 28 ounce can of whole peeled or crushed tomatoes |
| 1 stick of butter |
| 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil) |
| 1 teaspoon salt |
| 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional) |
| 3/4 pound pasta of your choice (or 1 pound if you need more) |
About the ingredients
Tomatoes
Plum tomatoes are always the best choice when making a tomato sauce. They have more meat and less seeds than a regular round eating tomato. Not only are there less seeds in a plum tomato but the seeds are quite small so you really don’t notice them in a sauce.
But there may be times you have some round eating tomatoes that you need to use up. If you are going to use fresh round eating tomatoes, cut the core out, cut them in half across the middle and scoop out the seeds along with the gel like substance the seeds are in. You don’t need to remove every single seed. You just want to get most of them.
If tomatoes are not in season you can use a 28 ounce can of peeled plum tomatoes and crush them by hand. For a smoother sauce you can use a 28 ounce can of crushed peeled tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are picked and packed at peak ripeness and work great in this sauce.
Basil
The only hint of Italian influence found in this sauce is the addition of fresh basil. Tomato and basil are a classic combination because they are great together.
During the summer months when tomatoes are abundant, fresh basil is easy to find and usually pretty inexpensive. I remember one time when my own basil wasn’t ready to pick yet, I bought a fresh basil plant that was being sold in the produce section because It was cheaper than the packaged basil leaves. Why not? It was a win, win. I cut off the leaves I needed for my recipe and then I planted it in with my other basil plants.
Using fresh basil leaves is the way to go with this sauce for a couple of reasons. The bright flavor of fresh basil complements the taste of fresh tomato perfectly. The basil flavor is not only complementary in this fresh tomato sauce but is prominent. It has a great supporting role in this simple sauce.
This sauce cooks up quickly. Quick cooking recipes will retain the flavor of fresh herbs. Fresh herbs lose a lot of their flavor in a dish that takes a long time to cook. In a tomato sauce with a longer cook time, dried herbs are a better choice. They have time to render all of their flavor into the sauce as they rehydrate. For the same reason dried herbs are the better choice in soups and stews that are going to simmer for a while.
What to do with leftover fresh basil
One possible consideration when buying fresh herbs can be what to do with any left over herbs you end up with after you have made a recipe. Back in the day, that was a concern of mine and it kept me from using fresh herbs. I have a waste not, want not outlook on life mainly because I never had a lot of money to squander. I wish I had known about these tips for making use of the remaining fresh herbs back then. You can actually save some money if you know what to do with those extra stems of basil.
Fresh basil leaves on the stem will last quite a while if you put them in a vase or small glass with some water. Not only does it look nice, but basil smells incredible. I always have fresh basil in a vase during the growing season. When I want to use some in salads or sauces I just pick off the leaves. Basil can also be used in cold dishes, drinks and desserts. It’s a very versatile herb. It is really good when combined with mint.
Make your own dried basil
You can make your own dried basil. If you have been using dried basil from the grocery store you won’t believe how much better your own dried basil is. All you have to do is cut the leaves off the stem and put them in a basket or any other container that lets air circulate, like a colander or a strainer and let them dry completely. That can take 2 -4 weeks depending on how moist the air is. If the leaves are large cut them into smaller pieces so they will dry quicker. When they are dry store them in a small glass bottle. A plastic container is okay too. but it’s better not to use a plastic bag. A plastic bag can breed mold. A small paper bag is better then a plastic bag.
Freeze basil leaves
Another alternative is to freeze any leftover basil leaves. You can put the fresh leaves in a plastic bag and freeze them just as they are. Or you can cut them into small pieces, mix them with some olive oil and using an ice cube tray you can make the mixture into frozen cubes. When the cubes have frozen just pop them out and put them in a plastic bag and keep them in your freezer. I keep mine on the shelf on the inside of the freezer door so I don’t have to search for them when I want to use them. Freezing is a great way to get that taste of fresh basil after the growing season is over. You take out only what you need and the rest can stay in the freezer. They last for a long long time in the freezer.
Want to know more about herbs
Want to know more about growing your own herbs, cooking with them or drying them? We have a look at all of that in our posts: Back Porch Herb Garden, Cooking with Herb and It’s Drying Time Again.
Butter
If you want to substitute the butter you can use any alternative you prefer such as margarine or tub butter, but for this sauce use a butter and not an oil. Butter is a main component to the flavor in this recipe. After all it is 1 of only 3 ingredients!
Cheese
Sometimes I use grated cheese in this recipe. I either add it to the sauce, grate it over the served dish, or both. And sometimes I don’t use grated cheese at all. I honestly can’t say which way I like more, with or without cheese. The taste and texture change with the addition of cheese but both ways are equally good in my opinion.
This is WHAT TO DO:
This fresh tomato sauce is being made with fresh unpeeled plum tomatoes
The easy way
Prepare the ingredients
I am going to chop the tomatoes and basil, slice the stick of butter and grate the parmesan cheese. Today I am using a block of parmesan cheese. Freshly grated cheese from the block always has the best flavor. You can use the refrigerated, already grated parmesan also, but I would not recommend using the cheese you buy in a can or bottle. It is barely cheese by the time it is processed.
The fresh plum tomatoes are chopped up. The smaller the chop the quicker it cooks. These pieces are cut to about 1/2 inch.
The stick of butter is sliced, fresh basil is chopped and I have grated cheese from a block. You can also use already grated parmesan cheese that you buy in the refrigerated section.
The alternative to just chopping the tomatoes is to peel them
To peel or not to peel
You can chop the tomatoes with the skin on and put them in the skillet to melt down, or you can peel the plum tomatoes before you start to cook the sauce, Needless to say if you want to peel the skins off, it is an additional step. I don’t bother skinning, but some people don’t like the small bits of skin that will remain in the sauce if the tomatoes are not peeled first.
Because you are chopping up the tomatoes before you melt them down in the skillet any pieces of skin in the sauce are small. They shrivel up when the sauce is cooking so they are even smaller. I scoop out some of the skins when they rise to the top as I stir. I don’t make a task out of finding them.
If you are using round fresh eating tomatoes their skins are thicker than the skins on plum tomatoes and are far more prominent in the finished sauce. You can peel regular eating tomatoes before making the sauce or be more diligent about scooping the skins out of the sauce while you are cooking it.
Because this is an enlarged picture the skins from the plum tomatoes that I have scooped out look a lot larger than they are. The skins separate from the cut up tomatoes as they cook. As you stir the sauce some pieces of skin will float up to the top. I just scoop them out when I see them. I do not go looking for them. I don’t care if they are in the finished sauce. What’s wrong with tomato skins anyway?
If you want to peel
If you want to start your sauce with peeled plum tomatoes it is an easy process. You can see how it’s done on Peeling Fresh Tomatoes.
Let’s get cooking
Melt the butter in a skillet
Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat.
Add the tomatoes, basil and salt to the butter and stir continuously
Add the chopped tomatoes, basil and salt to the melted butter.
Our sauce is going to take about 20 minutes to cook. For the first 5 minutes keep the burner on medium heat and stir continuously until the chopped tomatoes have started to melt into a sauce. Then turn the heat down to medium low for the final 15 minutes and stir frequently. While you are stirring, mash the tomatoes a little bit. Don’t put a cover on the skillet we need some of the liquid to evaporate.
NOTE: If the temperature knob on your stove only has markings for low, medium and high then the middle point between markings will be the medium point you will cook on. So medium low is half way between medium and low.
Here’s what it looks like:
Add the chopped tomatoes, basil and salt to the butter in the skillet
Stir continuously on medium heat for the first 5 minutes as the tomatoes melt down into a sauce
In 5 minutes the chopped tomatoes are becoming a sauce
Once the tomatoes start becoming a sauce you can turn the stove down to medium low and simmer for about 15 minutes. You need to stir frequently but not continuously at this point. Don’t cover the skillet.
This is what our sauce looks like after about 5 minutes on medium heat.
Now you can turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir frequently and mash up the tomatoes with a spoon as you do.
After 15 minutes we have a fresh tomato sauce
After 15 minutes on medium low heat the tomatoes should be fully cooked and most of the water in the juice has evaporated. If you want it thicker than it is at this point, just continue to simmer until you get the consistency you want.
If you see skins in the sauce and want to remove them just scoop them up with a spoon. It’s no big deal if you don’t get them out.
If you decided to peel first
We are going to end up in the same place when the sauce is fully cooked, but here is a look at what the steps look like if you peeled the skins off the tomatoes before making the sauce. Not sure how to peel a tomato? Check out the process in Peeling Fresh Tomatoes.
Hand crush the tomatoes after they are peeled. Slice the butter, chop up the basil and grate your cheese if you need to.
Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat and then add the crushed tomatoes, basil and salt. Bring to a boil then simmer on medium low heat for 20 minutes.
Here is our dish full of peeled plum tomatoes that we crushed by hand.
Just like we did with the cut tomatoes, we also sliced the butter, cut the basil and grated the cheese.
Melt the butter in a skillet and add the crushed tomatoes, basil and salt.
Once you get the sauce boiling on medium heat, turn to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the sauce is cooking boil the pasta
You can use any pasta you want with this sauce. We used linguini. Boil the pasta according to package directions. Do not overcook the pasta because we are going to add it to the sauce and let it steep in there for a few minutes.
Time starting your pasta so it is done about the same time as the sauce. We are going to take the pasta from the water and put it into the skillet with the sauce. You can use tongs, a spaghetti fork, a slotted spoon or a metal woven spider spoon. Some of the pasta water will come over to the skillet with the pasta and that is perfect. Adding pasta water to a sauce is a good thing. Pasta water is like a secret ingredient to a sauce like this.
The sauce is done .. time to add cheese
I am adding cheese to the sauce this time.
Remove the sauce from the heat. You are not trying to melt the cheese into the sauce just let it become part of it.
Adding cheese at any point is optional. You can add it to the sauce when it is done, you can add it when you have it on your plate or leave cheese out all together. It has a different flavor and consistency depending on whether you used cheese or not, but it is light fresh and delicious either way.
The only thing left to do is add the pasta
We are going to get the pasta out of the salted water it was cooked in and put it right into the skillet. Some of the pasta water will come over with the pasta into the sauce. That is perfect!
We have added the pasta to the sauce and mixed it in. Let it sit for about 3 minutes so all the flavors soak into the pasta.
It’s done!
In less than 25 minutes you have transformed your chopped plum tomatoes into a fresh tomato sauce. YUM!
Serve
FRESH TOMATO SAUCE
Ingredients
- 14 plum tomatoes
- 8 tablespoons butter 1 stick
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese optional
- ¾ pound pasta or 1 pound if needed
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Chop tomatoes into bite sized pieces
- Slice butter
- Chop basil leaves
- Grate cheese if you are using freshly grated from the block
Special note:
- If you want to peel the tomatoes first you can find out how to do that easily https://www.rickysrecipes.com/peeling-fresh-tomatoes/
Cooking Instructions
- Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes, basil and salt.
- Stir constantly for the first 5 minutes as the tomatoes boil down into a sauce
- After 5 minutes on medium heat, turn the stove down to medium low and simmer for another 15 minutes. Stir frequently and mash up the tomatoes with your spoon as you do. When the sauce is the consistency you want, remove the skillet from the heat.
- Boil the pasta as directed on the package. Time it as closely as possible so it will be done when the sauce is.
- If you want to add cheese to the sauce, remove it from the heat before you stir it in.
- Scoop the pasta from the water and put it into the skillet with the sauce. Some of the pasta water will come over into the skillet with the pasta. That is perfect. Pasta water is an ingredient in a sauce like this. Mix the pasta into the sauce and let sit off the heat for about 3 minutes to let the flavors blend together with the pasta.