No doubt, two of the greatest gifts from the summertime Gods: fragrant, sun-kissed basil leaves and straight-off-the-vine tomatoes. This no-cooking-required sauce let’s you make the most of summer’s best flavors. Not everyone’s lucky enough to step out into the backyard and pick their own homegrown tomatoes (if so, kudos to you!), so just be sure to pick up the freshest tomatoes you can find.
If you’ve got the grill fired up, then we definitely recommend adding some grilled veggies to this recipe: zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, leeks, asparagus. Our favorite pasta noodles for this dish are penne, fusilli, orecchiette or even spaghetti. Add fresh oregano or thyme as a garnish and/or freshly grated parmesan, if you’re up for it. Buon appetito!
SUMMER PASTA WITH RAW TOMATO SAUCE + UDO’S OIL
Serves 8
3-3.5 cups ripe Roma tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sundried/oven-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small onion, finely diced
4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of Udo’s Oil 3·6·9 Blend
3 garlic cloves, minced
5-10 anchovy fillets, finely sliced (optional)
15 basil leaves, finely sliced
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
FOR THE RAW TOMATO SAUCE:
- Place all ingredients except Udo’s Oil 3·6·9 Blend into the food processor and pulse briefly to incorporate all the ingredients;
- Add Udo’s Oil 3·6·9 Blend and pulse briefly once again to incorporate the oil into the mixture. Be sure not to over-blend so that some chunks of tomatoes remain, for a better bite;
- Season to taste and set aside.
TO ASSEMBLE THE DISH:
- Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente (firm to the bite); rinse under cold water so the pasta doesn’t over-cook, and drain well;
- Stir in the raw tomato sauce and let it sit for a minute or two so the pasta soaks up all the lovely flavors and juices from the tomato sauce;
- Stir again, check the seasoning and add fresh herbs (thyme, oregano) and/or grilled vegetables;
- Transfer to individual serving dish and drizzle extra Udo’s Oil as desired. Sprinkle with fresh parmesan (optional).
Recipe and food styling by Justina Yong. Learn more: FeastByJustinaYong.com. Photography by FotoFarm. Learn more: FotoFarmProductions.com