Rustic Tomato Sauce with Pasta

Who am I kidding? I'm just too lazy peel a pile of tomatoes and squeeze out the seeds, (after scoring and blanching them,) to make a chunky fresh tomato sauce. Plus, I need to rid the refrigerator crisper a half-bag of tomatoes starting to get some brown spots!

For this recipe, all I'm doing is roughly chopping some tomatoes, adding them to sauteing garlic and onion, then finishing it with a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped fresh herbs, and calling it a Rustic Tomato Sauce. This delicious recipe is a no-brainer, and impossible to mess up.

Leaving the skin on the tomatoes, and using the seeds, is a no-waste method that is as tasty as a typical perfectionist-chef made-from-scratch tomato sauce recipe. The skin is soft enough and the seeds are so small -- who cares if it doesn't look perfect.

My local Persian and Latin markets sell them for around three pounds per dollar, so it's even cheaper than canned. Now, this is another excuse for you to check out local immigrant enclaves for fresh produce -- so, get to know your foreign language speaking neighbors, you might save a few bucks.

3-D without glasses

Now it's time to put in the tomato plants, and in a few months you can look up this recipe -- that is, if you get a bumper crop!

Ingredients (1-2 servings)

• 1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes -- I used about 8 small Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion - white, yellow or red
• 2 cloves garlic - fresh chopped or from jar. About 1 teaspoon.
• 3 tablespoons olive oil - or a tasty oil. 1 tablespoon is for sauteing onion, and 2 tablespoons just before serving.
• 1 teaspoon chopped herbs - optional. Okay to use a favorite, dried or fresh. I used parsley, oregano and sage.
• Parmesan - optional, dried or fresh shaved. To taste.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• 1/3 package favorite pasta - cook to package directions.

Directions
Begin to boil water for pasta.

Heat large pan (enough to hold tomato and onion) with 1 tablespoon of oil. Roughly chop 1/2 onion and add to heating pan. Cook over a medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

As onions soften, time to start the pasta, just follow directions.

Add chopped garlic to onions. Saute garlic for a minute. Roughly slice tomatoes and add to sauteing onions. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Add dried herbs.

This is were you have the choice to cook tomatoes until semi-soft (about 3 minutes) or completely soft. I cooked tomatoes about 5 minutes. Just before tomatoes are done, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil (optional.)  Sprinkle on chopped fresh herbs. Mix well and serve over favorite pasta. Add parmesan if you have it.

Hindsight
My Rustic Tomato Sauce is the base flavor for any fresh veggies or protein you have on hand. Add a small can of tuna, sauteed chicken, or sausage. Zucchini, broccoli , spinach, asparagus, black olives -- almost any veggie you have on hand can be added as the tomatoes soften and saute. This is an easy recipe to expand for any surprise guests. Just add a few more tomatoes.

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