A fleshy wonder

HOMEMADE WOW

Tomatoes are now at their ripest and reddest, just right for a batch of fresh tomato sauce. Go ahead: Get to work. It doesn’t have to be a cellar full of sauce, with shelves and shelves of labelled Mason jars. Just make a small batch or three and freeze the stuff in zip-top bags. In a few months, you’ll be happy to have this tasty souvenir of summer’s sweetness. Or, for that matter, just make enough for a meal tonight.

Real, ripe tomatoes are at their cheapest now, too — another reason to give tomato sauce a go. At the market, look for the large, cracked, ugly, slightly bruised tomatoes sold at a discount. The flesh of these tomatoes is dense, sweet and blood red. Use plum tomatoes if you prefer; the main thing is they must be truly sun-ripened, whatever the variety. This is a quick-cooking sauce with relatively fast preparation. There’s no need to blanch and peel tomatoes . All you need is a hand-held grater. In a matter of minutes, you’ll be simmering a small saucepan full of gorgeous tomato pulp.

Cut the tomatoes in halves or quarters. Squeeze out the seeds, or don’t. (I never mind a few seeds in the sauce.) Place the cut side against the large holes of the grater and gently rub until only the tomato skin remains in your hand. Add a pinch of salt, a little olive oil, a garlic clove and a sprig of basil. A spoonful of tomato paste helps thicken the sauce. This makes a very fresh and bright-tasting sauce in a manageable small batch. It doesn’t cook for hours — 15 to 20 minutes are really all it takes.

There are a number of extremely simple pasta dishes that epitomise the term “comfort food.” Among them, a plain pasta with tomato sauce is glorious when it’s done right. One of my favourites is this version I learned in Sicily, made with nothing more than tomato sauce and good ricotta, with a little pecorino. For a perfect, balanced rendition, the rules are simple: Keep the pasta quite al dente; use just enough sauce, no more; give it a good pinch of crushed red pepper; and add enough salt. Once the pasta is dressed, top it with blobs of luscious fresh ricotta. Basta. It’s ready.

Quick fresh tomato sauce

INGREDIENTS

2.25 kg tomatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 garlic clove, halved
1 basil sprig
1 bay leaf

METHOD

Cut tomatoes in half horizontally. Squeeze out the seeds and discard, if you wish. Press the cut side of tomato against the large holes of a box grater and grate tomato flesh into a bowl. Discard skins. You should have about four cups.

Put tomato pulp in a low, wide saucepan over high heat. Add salt, olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, basil and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a brisk simmer.

Reduce the sauce by almost half, stirring occasionally, to produce about 2 & 1/2 cups medium-thick sauce in 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. It will keep up to five days in the refrigerator or may be frozen.

Pasta with fresh tomato sauce and ricotta

Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

500 gm dried pasta, such as farfalle or penne
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, softened
 Crushed red pepper (optional)
2 & 1/2 cups fresh tomato sauce, warm (see recipe)
6 ounces ultrafresh ricotta, at room
temperature
Grated pecorino
Basil leaves, for garnish

METHOD

Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted water, making sure to keep it quite al dente.
 Put butter in a wide, deep skillet over medium heat. Add drained pasta to the pan and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper, if using.

Add tomato sauce gradually and stir to coat pasta, using only enough sauce for a light coating. (You may not need the entire 2 & 1/2 cups.)

Transfer pasta to a warm serving bowl and dot top with spoonfuls of ricotta. Sprinkle lightly with pecorino and garnish with a few torn basil leaves.