Tomato Garlic Butter Sauce For Pasta Salads More Food

TOMATO BASIL GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Give the cherry tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and lemon a quick wash, then dry them before prepping them.
• Grab a cutting board and a sharp knife and prep the cherry tomatoes by slicing them in half and set aside. Then finely mince the garlic - you can do this with a chef's knife or use a coarse microplane grater and set aside. Next, use a microplane or fine grater and zest the lemon - only zest the yellow part of the lemon peel, not the inner white pith and set aside. Then cut the lemon in half and squeeze a few teaspoons of juice into a small bowl and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over low heat, add the butter and allow to melt - this should take about 1 minute. Once the butter has melted, increase the heat to medium and add the tomatoes, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice. Cook for about 5 minutes, just until the cherry tomatoes start to break down. Then add the whole basil leaves to the sauce and give it several stirs until the basil leaves have slightly wilted into the sauce.
• At this point you can remove the sauce from the heat and season with sea salt and optional freshly ground pepper. Stir and serve immediately.

BASIC GARLIC BUTTER TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Place the tomatoes in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat with NO OIL IN THE PAN. We are trying to blister the outsides of the skins a little bit here.
• Once the skins get a little blistered and the tomatoes are looking soft, turn the heat down to avoid lots of splatter, and add the olive oil and garlic. Be careful not to brown the garlic.
• Press the tomatoes gently with the back of a wooden spoon so they break open and release their juices. Add the balsamic and let the whole mixture reduce until it's thickened a bit, maybe 5-10 minutes.
• Finish with the knob of butter and season with salt to taste.

PASTA WITH TOMATO BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly (about 30 seconds).
• Add tomatoes with juices, Italian seasoning, sugar and bay leaf. If using whole tomatoes, break up tomatoes with a spoon into about 1-inch pieces while bringing to a boil. Once sauce reaches a gentle boil, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer.
• Begin heating water in a large pot to boiling for the pasta and cook according to package directions while sauce is simmering.
• Simmer sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf and discard. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
• Add cooked and drained pasta to sauce and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley or basil, if desired.

TOMATO-BUTTER PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, using the large holes of a box grater, grate the cut ends of the tomato into a large bowl. Discard or compost skins. Grate the butter into the bowl as well. Using the small holes of the box grater, grate the garlic into the bowl. Add the red-pepper flakes, and season generously with salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Return the drained pasta to the pot, along with the bowl of grated tomato and butter. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and glosses the pasta, 2 to 3 minutes (the sauce will thicken as it sits). Add pasta water as needed to emulsify the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with more red-pepper flakes, black pepper, basil and Parmesan as desired.

GARLIC-BUTTERED PASTA

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook garlic in butter over medium-low heat until mixture is fragrant, 4-5 minutes; remove from heat. Drain pasta; add to garlic butter. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper; toss to coat.

TOMATO AND GARLIC PASTA

Steps:

• Place tomatoes in a kettle, and cover with cold water. Bring just to the boil. Pour off water, and cover again with cold water. Peel. Cut into small pieces.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
• In a large skillet or saute pan, saute the garlic in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. The garlic should just become opaque, not brown. Stir in the tomato paste. Immediately stir in the tomatoes, and salt and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer until the pasta is ready; add the basil.
• Drain the pasta, but do not rinse in cold water. Toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and then mix into the sauce. Reduce the heat as low as possible. Keep warm, uncovered, for about 10 minutes when it is ready to serve. Garnish generously with fresh Parmesan cheese.
• VARIATIONS: Saute fresh quartered mushrooms with the garlic, or add shoestring zucchini along with the tomato.