Flavor-Packed Fresh Tomato Sauces

Published September 1, 2006.

How do you make a sauce that does justice to the robust flavor of seasonal tomatoes?

The Problem

The dog days of summer produce the only fresh tomatoes of the year fit for pairing with pasta, but combining them with the wrong ingredients can dull their liveliness.

The Goal

We wanted to create a few quick pasta sauces that would capitalize on the full, robust flavor of great seasonal tomatoes.

The Solution

We determined that any type of tomato tasted fine when skinned, seeded, chopped, and then simmered in a skillet with garlic and olive oil …as long as it was ripe. But for suitable companions to finish our sauces, we needed to look beyond the usual suspects like parsley and ricotta and find forceful flavors--potent herbs and spices (piney rosemary), cured meats (smoky bacon), and assertive cheeses (pungent feta). But we also needed to use them judiciously to keep the sauce in balance.

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