No Cook Pasta Sauce
Posted by in Food
I’ve seen the no-cook pasta sauces that show up in women’s magazines in the summer and my friend Debbie recently did one on her blog Words to Eat By which convinced me I needed to try Martha’s version in August Living called Tomato and Basil Pasta. I’m hooked. It was easy and delish. Put 1/4 cup olive oil and 3 sliced garlic cloves in a bowl with salt and pepper. Add 1 lb of hot, cooked pasta (I used whole wheat rotini). Toss. Rip up 4 tomatoes with your hands. Drop in blobs of soft cheese (I used goat cheese – about 6 oz) and add some fresh herbs (Martha says to use basil but I didn’t have enough so I also used oregano, chives, rosemary and parsley). Stir it and serve. Very simple and it was so flavorful and wonderful. The tomatoes taste sweet and fresh. The cheese makes it creamy and the fresh herbs add lots of punch. I’m definitely going to be doing this again. The only problem with this is you can’t reheat leftovers well. The tomato ends up hot and mushy and the herbs lose their freshness. Teen Martha solved this by just eating it cold!
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Thanks for this idea for tonight’s dinner. I’m going to take Martha’s side for a change and say I think you should use fresh basil the next time you make this dish, but then all I have to do is go cut some in my garden …
Ooo, that does sound delicious! And simple, too. I love goat cheese, so I’d like to try out this recipe sometime.
I tried to, but didn’t have enough! I have one little plant and I took as many leaves as I could, but there just weren’t enough! The other herbs were nice though.
Going to do this tonight with mozzarella and basil. Yum yum.
hmm…never been a big fan of raw tomatoes. I like tomatoes in marinara sauce, chili, barbecue sauce, etc. though. Wondering about trying this…
My poor basil plant got beaten down by a rain storm last night. It will pop back up, but it looks so bedraggled. I have more than I know what to do with–shall I attach some to this e-mail?
Yes please!
Yum, I saw Debbie’s version which looked delish! This one looks good too. I’ve been missing out!
I love a no-cook sauce in the summer. I also make a very flavourful semi-no-cooked (it has tomato paste in it that HAS been cooked) for our homemade pizza sauce.
I love the idea of not cooking pasta sauce. After all even when I use it from the jar, I rarely take the time to warm it up. I just pour on top and eat lukewarm.
I usually put it in a bowl in the microwave with a lid to prevent spatters and heat it up in there.
I use to eat like this all the time when i needed a quick meal to satiate my hunger. goat cheese, tomatoes, and pasta go really well together too.
I started making some no cook pasta sauces after reading about them in Cucina Italiana. I love them! Easy to make and sooo delicious. Will also check out Debbie’s recipes!!
This sounds so delicious! Not to mention easy. If I ever have any fresh tomatoes, I’ll give it a try.
Sounds wonderful and eating it cold the next time around is smart!
Oooh, looks fabulous. I am definitely cooking this one; especially since I have a ton of basil growing on my deck. Thanks!
I’m all for cooking w/o actually cooking. Great idea.
Did someone say, “no cook?!” I’m in!
I need further instrux on one thing. “Rip up tomatoes with your hands.” Starting whole? Or do you slice them first?
The recipe says to take a whole tomato and rip it up with your hands. That’s all the instruction it provides! I tore mine into about 6-7 pieces per tomato
This looks really great! Of course, the tomatoes have to be super ripe and fresh, I’m imagining, to make it taste spectacular. I don’t have access to just-picked tomatoes right now. When my tomatoes are so-so, I like to roast them with plenty of garlic and use that as a sauce, because it brings out their sweetness.
Yes, this is a summertime in the States recipe. You could definitely use stewed or roasted tomatoes at other times of year.
I’ve made a similar dish without pasta – used spaghetti squash instead, since I was on an all-plant diet for a while. It was really good with the squash, so I’ll have to try it with gluten free pasta!