Raw Tomato Sauce
Is your garden overflowing with tomatoes? Mine is. It’s a jungle out there. The zucchini plant is on the offensive, overtly attacking its neighbors in a battle for square footage while the tomatoes surreptitiously creep and cling to everything they can. At this point, they are huge sprawling bushes, heavy with fruit.
The boys go out to jump on the trampoline and come inside bearing gifts, their little hands laden. I too venture out to pluck tomatoes off the bushes before they turn to mush or fall to the ground. I’m not complaining. They’re delicious. Some are good eaten straight up. Others go nicely on top of a green salad. With so many tomatoes there really needs to be so many ways to eat them.
In an attempt to create much needed variety, this afternoon I made a raw tomato sauce to serve over pasta. Well, I can tell you it was one of those small, satisfying successes. Our neighbors Chris and Larry (Josh’s parents) came over for dinner and ate the sauce uncomplainingly. The children all asked for seconds after it was gone so I ran out to the garden, harvested more tomatoes, some basil and whipped up another batch in the middle of dinner. My younger son drank his seconds as soup and Josh’s little sis, Zoe used hers as a dipping sauce for her green beans.
So, as you see, this raw tomato sauce is very versatile and provides a good deviation from the standard forms of tomato consumption.
8 medium tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup basil leaves
- Place 7 of the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt and basil in a blender
- Puree on high speed until creamy
- Chop the remaining tomato and add to the sauce
- Serve
This quick and easy dish can turn mountains of tomatoes into a yummy raw sauce without heating up your kitchen in the middle of August.
Are you enjoying your garden this month? If you find yourself with an abundance of tomatoes, what are doing with them? Let us know and please, share your recipes in the comments section!
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Subscribe by Email to elanaspantry.com:Posted on August 15, 2008 in condiments by Elana
you might also like: Parsley Pesto with Sundried Tomatoes
or Raw Apple Sauce
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12 comments for the post “Raw Tomato Sauce”
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This ingredient list looks just like the sauce I made for dinner the other night, only mine was cooked! I will have to give the raw version a try. Thanks for the idea.
August 16th, 2008 8:32 am
This looks and sounds so good! One question though, is it just from the blending that makes it look so white and creamy? It looks amazingly like a creamy tomato sauce :)
August 16th, 2008 1:26 pm
Looks and sounds scrumptious! Can’t wait to give it a try later this evening - yep, we’ll be having some for dinner! :-) What a great way to use the tomatoes our parents just brought from their garden - thanks! ;-)
August 17th, 2008 9:32 am
Alisa - You are welcome.
Amy - I used some orange and yellow tomatoes (in addition to red) that are a slightly different variety than red ones, they are a light color even when they are fully ripened, that’s why my sauce is “orangy.” Also, the vita-mix gives just about everything a super smooth and creamy texture.
Rachel -You are welcome; I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
August 18th, 2008 4:01 pm
I only wish my garden were overflowing with tomatoes. The deer got most of them. We have eaten one — but it was delicious. There are some more babies on our one surviving tomato plant that I hope ripen before the deer and and/or snow hits the garden.
We do have an abundance of plums this summer. I’m picking the low ones and leaving the high ones for the squirrels.
Claire @ http://culinary-colorado.blogspot.com
August 19th, 2008 9:08 am
My Garden is overflowing with tomatoes, I will give this easy recipe a try, can I freeze the sauce
August 25th, 2008 7:00 pm
This looks so creamy and delicious! I’m in the market for a new blender and have heard good things elsewhere about the Vita-mix.
August 27th, 2008 8:53 am
Claire -We have a bunch of sour plums on our dwarf plum tree and I am thinking of making some jam out of them if I can get around to it!
Teresa -Thanks for your comment. I’ve not experimented with freezing the sauce; if you do so, please stop back over and let us know how it turned out.
Maggie -The Vita-mix is definitely my blender of choice. Thanks!
August 27th, 2008 12:03 pm
I was shopping at the Farmers Market this past weekend and a gentleman was sampling his homegrown, Tennessee striped tomatoes. This tomato was a brilliant yellow color with red marbling, very large with a rich, sweet flavor. The first thing I thought of was the picture in this recipe. I grabbed some fresh basil and I knew where the evening was headed…Papadini Pasta, Grass-Fed ground sirloin, home-made raw tomato sauce, garden fresh veggies… what a soul satisfying meal. Thanks Elana!
September 9th, 2008 5:15 am
Courtney,
That meal sounds absolutely amazing!
Hope you are well.
Elana
September 10th, 2008 11:54 am
Hi,
I came across your website about 6 wks ago, I’ve been gluten free since March this year. Thank you for your website and all the research you do in the kitchen on our behalf. I was so happy to see on your FAQs that Bob’s Red Mill doesn’t work in your recipes, it’s not me, except that’s all they sell around here. I finally ordered some on line.
Anyway, our whole family is on a special candida diet and the only sweetener we can have is stevia. You wouldn’t happen to have an agave/stevia ratio? I don’t ever seem to use enough.
Thanks,
Cindy :)
September 25th, 2008 8:50 am
Dear Cindy,
I don’t have any ratio for agave/stevia. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Thanks,
Elana
September 25th, 2008 1:40 pm