Fresh Tomato Sauce

Aside from my child, I don’t grow anything.

I’m not reveling in the bounty of my garden, nor am I snipping herbs from my windowsill. Later, maybe.

We do have a farmer’s market in the neighborhood but somehow, this summer has blown past with me only managing to show up there a few times. But over the weekend, my friend Theresa the pasta lover wrote, and told me about a sauce she’s been making from overripe tomatoes that sell for $1 a pound at her local market, so I made it a destination.

This is one of those instances where I wish I were more of a photographer, because one of the tomatoes was just a revelatory sight. Gloriously fat and orange, it was starting to split the seams. When diced, it resembled a bowl of glistening jewels. I mixed it with some marinated mozzarella that was not at all worthy, and it was still phenomenal.

The next day I approached the pile of red ones I’d bought. One would go for Henry’s dinner, and for that, I chopped it, and put seeds and all into a bit of butter and oil warming on the stove. A tiny bit of salt, and it was the perfect sauce for ravioli in about 4 minutes.

It was so good that I felt reluctant to try something different with the other tomatoes, but I followed Theresa’s instructions to cook garlic in oil, melt in some anchovies, and add the chopped tomatoes.

I used 2 smashed cloves, 3 anchovy filets, and 4 tomatoes, juice and seeds and all. I stirred in a bit of chili, butter, and salt. Serve over spaghetti, and sigh at the brilliant simplicity.