WHEW – alright people, we are settled back at home in Kansas after a 3 + week long trip to North Carolina. Seth had a 3 week training in Georgia, and we have tons of family and friends in North Carolina just a few states away (almost said one state and then checked myself and looked at a US map…Lord please never let me teach geography), so Ford and I decided to tag along and hang out in North Carolina while he was at the training in Georgia!
I was a little nervous about how the whole thing would go between the 16 hour drive + being out of our own space for almost a whole month, but it turned out to be great! The drive wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, and the 3 weeks flew by thanks to lots of company and family/friend time!
But – it’s good to be home and it feels great to get back to work! I haven’t checked in with the blog in what feels like months, and even though it was good to take a breath and enjoy some time with family and friends, it feels good to be on here chatting with you lovely people again!
So – let’s talk fresh tomato pasta…
This is officially my goodbye love letter to summer. You know I LOVE ME some fall **said as I’m sipping a pumpkin spice latte** but delicious, fresh summer food deserves its own celebration too. This is my “see ya later summer, you are delicious and fresh and you give me us many yummy fruits and veggies – thanks for bein’ you” recipe.
And it totally embodies everything I love about summer. Quick, easy recipes. Fresh ingredients. No over complication. No super long simmers or oven cook times. Also, tomatoes in summer? Is there another veggie that is more seasonally delicious?
When there are fresh tomatoes available, push those cans of tomatoes deep into the back of your pantry for a few more months, and use the delicious and ripe tomatoes you have at your finger tips instead. I’m hanging on to the last of the delicious summer tomatoes as the season is coming to a close. I just picked a big bowl of cherry tomatoes from our garden, so it’s not time to say goodbye quiiiite yet.
^^^That last sentence makes it seem like we are remotely successful gardeners, which LOL – false. We are raging fails. We killed two of our herbs and managed to keep our basil growing, our cucumbers were awful, and we ended up having TWO successful orange peppers – the rest were diseased by the time they were ready to pick. Our tomatoes haven’t been bad, but they are slow developers. We’ve only gotten about two full harvests from them.
HAAALLPP.
So this sauce was actually made with store bought, vine ripened tomatoes, which I felt was ironic since we have a tomato plant in our front yard. WHATEVER gardening…I don’t like you either.
Anyway, I digress. Let’s talk about this sauce. It’s fresh, it’s SO easy, and it only simmers for half an hour. Winninnnggggg. Here’s what’s in it:
- Fresh tomatoes
- Shallot
- Garlic
- A little bit of olive oil
That’s it, fam. Saute the shallot and garlic in a few swirls of olive oil until softened, add your chopped tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook for half an hour, stirring every now and then.
And then, after thirty minutes, you are left with a delicious tomato sauce that is loaded with freshness and flavor. Toss half a box of perfectly cooked pasta in with that addicting sauce, and go. to. TOWN.
Thanks for these last few months, summer, they have been wonderful and warm and filled with all kinds of yummy food, but I can’t say I’m not excited for the soul-comforting food of fall and winter.
I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far! I’ll see ya on Friday!
PrintFresh Tomato Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 3 pounds vine ripened tomatoes, diced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 8 ounces of spaghetti (half a box)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best!)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add a few swirls of olive oil over medium heat. Add your shallot and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until soft
- Add your tomatoes to the pan and season with salt and pepper
- Bring to a simmer and simmer for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing the tomato pieces down with the back of your spoon to help them break down
- When your sauce has about ten minutes left, bring a pot of salted water (it should taste like the ocean) to a boil. When boiling, add your pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and have it ready to add to your sauce
- When your sauce is done, season to taste with salt and pepper and add your pasta. Sprinkle in your parmesan cheese and stir to totally combine
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve!
Notes
You don’t need to use vine ripened tomatoes in this recipe. Those are my favorite to use, but any ripe tomato will work great!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup, packed
- Calories: 356
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 641 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 59 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 23 mg
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
In the mood for more yummy pasta recipes? Check these out:
Arugula Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce
Instant Pot Cheesy Turkey Taco Pasta
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