The Taste Of The Mediterranean With Fresh Tomato And Rosemary Sauce
With readily available fresh rosemary herb from your garden, this recipe of homemade tomato sauce perfect with any pasta stirs up a longing for those warm summer evenings. The rosemary and charred tomato sauce is quick and easy to make – only takes about 30 minutes, plus a little prep time.
This tomato sauce recipe is very adaptable if you wish to add chicken or fish and bake it in the oven. Or make the sauce a little more creamy with a splash of cream. Use canned tomatoes if you don’t have fresh ones available. Change it up and add parmesan instead of feta cheese. As a summertime feast, use your home-grown tomatoes from your vegetable garden! We would love to hear from you. Did you add a different ingredient? Share your variation in the comment section below.
Straight From Your Garden
Learn how to grow these vegetables and herbs in your garden:
Ingredients Needed
Serves 4
A handful of fresh rosemary herb, finely chopped to about 1 tbsp
6-8 large tomatoes or tub of small tomatoes (or 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
Handful of sliced black olives (optional)
Feta (crumbled) or grated parmesan cheese as a topping (as a cheese fiend I will leave the amount up to you)
Pasta (400 g) penne or any pasta of your choice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley
Cooking Steps
- The first step is to char the fresh tomatoes. Add them whole to a hot, dry saucepan (this should be the same pan you will continue to cook with). Once the skins have a slightly burnt surface, remove your charred tomatoes from the pan and set aside. Don’t worry if tomato bits are left stuck to your pan. This will add flavour to your onions in the next step.
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Reduce the heat to medium and add a drizzle of olive oil to your saucepan. Add your chopped onions and rosemary and cook for a few minutes. Once the onions are soft, add the garlic and cook together with the onions and rosemary for another minute or two.
- Then add all your charred, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper, black olives and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Taste. If the tomatoes are a little tart, add a teaspoon of sugar. If you wish to include cream, add a splash to your rosemary and tomato sauce after the initial 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta.
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Once the pasta is cooked and drained, toss it into the pan with your rosemary and charred tomato sauce, and give it all a gentle stir.
- Serve hot with crumbled feta and parsley.
