Some plum, some yellow, some purple, some "regular."

Peppers in pretty colors, little eggplants, and herbs, too. NOT cilantro! :-)

Please help me make the very very best sauce I can make. Thanks!

In my big stock pot, I put a swirl of olive oil and 2 chopped yellow onions. Not sweet onions, just yellow onions.....and one big or 2 small green peppers....again chopped fairly small.....cook slowly until soft and add 4 or 5 big cloves of garlic, grated or chopped, cook a minute and start dumping in peeled and cored tomatoes, perhaps cut into quarters....add about 4 quarts of peeled tomatoes, simmer, stirring occasionally....and while it is simmering add 2 or 3 bay leaves, about 1/4 cup of chopped fresh Italian parsley, another 1/4 cup (or more!) fresh chopped basil and about 2 T fresh oregano leaves....and because I like it to cling to my pasta, I add a 6 oz can of Continadina tomato paste.....and about a cup of dry red wine.
Simmer a couple of hours until it thickens and reduces some....taste....add salt as needed.....is ti too sweet ( probably unless your tomatoes were not dead ripe) add a little red wine vinegar.....taste....more vinegar? More salt?....Then I add a little ground roasted red pepper.....just to give it a wee tiny bite.

It will be very seedy....some say to seed the tomatoes before making, but you lose a lot of that good tomato flavor by doing that.
Then I freeze the sauce and use it as a base for tomato red pepper soup, meat sauce, chicken cacciatore etc etc.
With the variation in cultivars and soil and growing conditions for the tomatoes.....there can not really be a recipe....just a rough ingredient list.
Linda C

Thanks you! It sounds delicious.

PASTA WITH FRESH TOMATOES

5 medium-size vine-ripened tomatoes
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar (can substitute basalmic)
1 or 2 cloves garlic, chopped (can use more)
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 Lb. Brie cheese, rind off, cubed
Linguini noodles or other pasta

Peel, seed and drain tomatoes. Chop coarsely. Sprinkle with vinegar after placing in a bowl. In a small skillet, cook the garlic in olive oil until softened but not browned. Add to tomatoes; stir. Add basil, salt and pepper. Marinate at room temperature for several hours. Cook linguini al dente; drain. Toss with tomato mixture and cheese cubes. Serves 4-6.

Instead of the vinegar though I like a bit of preserved lemon. Wonderful stuff.

/tricia

/t

Here was that post: ynnei said
This tomato sauce from Smitten Kitchen changed the way I view it completely. I'd always added a lot of seasonings to the sauces I'd made before with tomato paste and canned sauce, but she is so right- the fresh tomatoes, once simmered down, don't need much help. She does add garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes, but it is amazing.

The actual recipe is way down the SK link. It is essentially a rapid cook down of skinned, seeded tomatoes with salt, adding reserved collected juice as necessary. A slowly heated oil extract of basil, red pepper and garlic is added and served over pasta. Thats it.

SK says the cook down only takes ~25 minutes. It has taken me much longer but still very fresh.