Tomato Sauce with Olive Oil and Chopped Vegetables
It’s Cindy again, and I’m so excited because it’s now my turn to move on to the Pasta chapter of The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I absolutely love pasta. If you love pasta also, and want a simple but extremely delicous sauce, you have got to try this one. I just loved it! This recipe is unique in that the carrots, celery, and onions are put in with the tomatoes without being sauteed first. Marcella says this is called “a crudo”. So here’s how easy it is-you open a can of imported plum tomatoes, cut them up and put them in a saucepan. You then cut up celery, carrots, and onion and add that along with salt to the tomatoes. You cook for 30 minutes, then add olive oil, and cook for another 15 minutes. That’s it! You have this wonderful sauce. It’s very fresh-tasting. The carrot adds a real sweetness to the sauce, and the vegetables remain a little crunchy adding a nice texture. Marcella suggests serving this with a factory-made pasta like spaghettini or penne. I chose penne. This is one pasta sauce that I know I will be making time and again. There’s also a couple of variations listed I’ll have to try-one with marjoram and two cheeses, and one with rosemary and pancetta.
Cindy, I love this sauce as well. It really tastes OF the ingredients, if that makes any sense!
Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing!
Simple is good, Cindy!
I love pasta too and am really looking forward to hearing about all of the recipes in this chapter.
It doesn’t say so in this version of the recipe, but I think it would be very nice to grate and toss it with a little bit of parmigiano-reggiano. I am not as stuffy as I used to be about holding back the cheese. It looks so appetizing.
Marcella- thank you for the suggestion. I didn’t add any cheese to this and loved the fresh taste, but I’m sure cheese would also make a nice addition. I’m loving the pastas I’ve made so far!
Cindy, this sauce sounds perfect for my tastes! I love the idea of the carrots too. Eccellente!! Simple, fresh, full of flavor!