Ashley made this evening meal the other day. It was a scratch recipe - made up as she went along and using up various leftovers. Although it is yet another simple tomato sauce with pasta, this was so delicious that I had to document it. The cherry tomatoes and the basil came from the garden, which probably helped. I’ve written it as a recipe for posterity.

At a Glance

  • Serves: 4
  • Prep: 15 minutes
  • Cook: 1 hour
  • Equipment: Shallow Pan, stick blender

Ingredients

  • 250–300 g cherry tomatoes
  • 2–3 beef tomatoes
  • 1 large red onion
  • 1 large white onion
  • 1 long (Romano) pepper
  • Spaghetti (enough for your servings)
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Fresh basil, to finish

Method

  1. Prepare the tomatoes. Keep some cherry tomatoes aside for the end. Chop the beef tomatoes and halve the cherry tomatoes. Toss with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar - let them sit as the salt brings out the moisture.

  2. Reduce the tomatoes. Simmer the tomatoes in a couple of tablespoons of water with additional salt, pepper, and a little balsamic vinegar for about 45 minutes, until soft and reduced.

  3. Fry the onions. Roughly chop the red and white onion and slowly fry in a little vegetable or olive oil with salt and pepper for about 30 minutes.

  4. Roast the pepper. Meanwhile, roast the long pepper in a 200°C oven for about 30 minutes with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil.

  5. Blend. Blitz the roasted pepper with the tomato mixture and half of the onions using a stick blender, then return everything (including the remaining onions) to one pan.

  6. Cook the pasta and combine. Cook the spaghetti, then add it to the sauce with a splash of the pasta cooking water. Check the seasoning.

  7. Finish. Toss through fresh basil and the remaining halved cherry tomatoes, and serve.

Notes

Three things make this: the long, slow reduction; the roasted pepper; and the fresh basil and cherry tomatoes stirred in at the end. The combination of blended and roughly chopped vegetables really works well.

I hope we can reproduce this as well as the original soon.