Big Red

Now is the time for fresh, ripe tomatoes around here, which means that now is also the time for fresh tomato sauce (thanks to Lisa for reminding me - I had these photos all set, and then totally forgot to post about it).  At our farm we get a variety of tomatoes; the big heirlooms they pick for us, but the plum tomatoes and the cherries we get to pick ourselves.  One of my favorite smells in the world is that musky, tomato-on-the-vine-in-the-sun smell, so the pick-your-own part is kind of like free therapy.

This sauce, from The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, takes advantage of a mix of tomatoes for a complex blend of sweet and bright flavors.  It's a good sauce for lasagne or filled pasta recipes, and also for adding to other sauces and soups to liven them up; it's also great on pasta if you like your sauce non-chunky.  I tend to like the chunks, but this recipe manages to distill the great taste of late-summer tomatoes, and it freezes well, too.  The recipe as written doesn't make a ton of sauce; I tend to double or even triple it whenever I make it.  If you're doing the same, remember to cook everything longer (and if possible, use a bigger pan) to get the same rich taste.