# Dry Farmed Tomato Sauce



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

The tomatoes at the farmers' market were outstanding yesterday, so I made a little sauce for my spaghetti. Nothing fancy - very simple - took a tip from a Mario Batali recipe and went at it. I've noted just what ingredients I used. You can use whatever you like.

*Dry Farmed Tomato Sauce*

1 -lb plus of very fresh, very ripe, small dry farmed tomatoes (cherry tomato size or slightly bigger)
1/4 cup Bariani late harvest EVOO (Late harvest because I didn't want an oil too green and peppery)
3 - 4 med-large cloves garlic cut into large pieces (don't smash, mince, dice, chop)
3 leaves of fresh, soil grown basil (not hydroponically grown)
very small amount of Diamond Crystal kosher salt or favorite sea salt
1/8 tsp or so of hot red pepper flakes
Rustichella d'Abruzzo, Benedetto Cavalieri spaghetti, or similar

Put olive oil in a pan and add the pieces of garlic, then bring up the heat slowly to a low level and cook the garlic until it just starts to brown. Remove the garlic from the pan.

Cut the tomatoes in half and add them to the oil, including seeds and juices, increasing the heat to about medium. Add the pepper flakes. Cook the tomatoes slowly until they disintegrate and melt into the oil. While cooking remove the skins from the tomatoes as they separate. Cook a bit until some of the moisture evaporates and the sauce slightly thickens. You do not want to overcook the sauce.

Wipe the basil leaves with a damp towel - don't wash them. Add the leaves whole to the sauce, and after a few minutes, when they've wilted, remove them from the sauce. They will have added a nice, subtle Basil flavor and aroma. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the spaghetti. 

You know how to cook spaghetti so no instruction is necessary except the mention that you should use plenty of salted water, more than package directions call for. I use six quarts per pound, 4 quarts for 1/2 pound or less.


----------

