Simple Tomato Sauce

Summer is upon us and the tomatoes are finally plump and sweet. I've been waiting on this moment since early spring, and I was beginning to think they would never be ready for harvest. Now I have an abundance of warm sun kissed tomatoes ready to be enjoyed.

A simple raw tomato sauce tossed with pasta is the perfect weeknight dinner on a hot summer evening when the last thing I want to do is stand over a hot stove.

Simple Tomato Sauce

2 pounds of tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbs olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

That's a huge head of garlic! I can't get enough garlic. Feel free to use more or less depending on your tastes.

Once the tomatoes, garlic, and basil are chopped put them in a large bowl along with the juices from the tomatoes.

Look at those colors!

Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes.

Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Nice...action shot!

With a fork stir to combine. Gently mash the tomato mixture breaking up some of the tomatoes to release their juices.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the sauce to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or several hours to merry the flavors. The sauce can be made several hours in advance.

Now would be a good time to pour a glass of white wine. Relax!

 Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, I used corkscrew pasta, but spaghetti or angel hair work great too. Reserve a ladle or two of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Combine the pasta and the tomato sauce adding the pasta water to heat the sauce and loosen the pasta.

Top the pasta with parmesan cheese and more basil and enjoy.