In my house we call this tomato pesto “summer sauce” because we make it every summer with fresh tomatoes from the garden. It is a rich and creamy sauce, deeply sweet and fortified with parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.
This fresh tomato pesto is another recipe that I came up with as a way to use tons of fresh tomatoes from the garden. (See my recent oven roasted sun dried tomatoes, or zucchini bread for other ways to use garden produce). In fact, in my house we call this “summer sauce,” obviously named for the fact that we make it every summer when the tomatoes are freshest. We usually have it at least twice throughout the summer. But I also make a big batch of it at the end of the season, right before the tomato plants die out, and freeze it for that fresh taste of summer throughout the fall and winter months. It is a thick, rich sauce, sweetened by the freshest vine ripened cherry and heirloom tomatoes, with a punch of nuttiness from parmesan cheese and lots of herbs for flavor.
CALLING TOMATO SAUCE PESTO
Technically pesto can be made from anything green, like my leek and stinging nettle pesto. So while this fresh tomato pesto is not really a pesto at all, I think that the moniker fits it best. The sauce is thick and rich, fortified like a pesto with parmesan cheese and tons of fresh herbs. It’s not as smooth as a traditional tomato sauce, since the tomatoes go whole (skins and all) into the food processor. And classic tomato sauce is usually cooked down for a long time (think Italian Sunday gravy). So it feels strange to call this tomato “sauce”, when it’s actually much closer to a fresh, bright and herbaceous pesto.
Traditionally we wouldn’t cook a pesto, so the freshness of the herbs can shine through. However, I do like to simmer this fresh tomato pesto briefly. Reducing the sauce slightly removes some of the excess moisture from the tomatoes, and concentrates that sweet tomato flavor. But you definitely don’t want to cook it too long; the freshness of those tomatoes should still stand out.
SERVING YOUR PESTO
Like a traditional pesto, a little bit of this fresh tomato pesto goes a long way. Your pasta won’t be swimming sauce; instead, each noodle has little bits of bright and deeply tomato-ey morsels clinging to it. And it is not just the perfect sauce to serve hot with pasta. It makes a great cold pasta salad as well, or an addition to scrambled eggs, toast, pizza, and just about anything else you can think of.
Fresh Tomato Pesto
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh tomatoes, either cherry or plum
- 6 colves garlic
- 1/2 onion, cut in quarters
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 5 sprigs fresh basil
- 5 sprigs fresh oregano (leaves only)
- salt to taste
- 1 lb pasta, optional for serving
Instructions
- Combine garlic and onions in the food processor and pulse untile finely chopped. Add tomatoes, olive oil, herbs and cheese and pulse until well combined. The sauce should be still a little bit chunky.
- Add the sauce to a medium sauce pan. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce is reduced slightly and some of the moisture has evaporated, 10 minutes. Don't overcook; you want to preserve the flavor of the fresh tomatoes.
- Toss with your favorite pasta and serve.
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