Fun with Color!

So in perusing my google reader yesterday I came across this post on 101 Cookbooks for a golden tomato sauce. As it was a gloomy day outside, I thought having virtual sunshine on a plate sounded like a fabulous idea. Luckily Monday has loads of tomato vendors at the greenmarket, so I decided to see what I could come up with.





In retrospect, I probably should have gone for more yellow then orange-y heirlooms, but these were just so delicious looking, I couldn't help myself. I used the smaller two for the sauce with a bit of the other one that had gotten a little mashed in my bag.

This recipe turned out so simple and easy, and was so delicious. I love having a gourmet feeling on a rainy Monday!

Sunshine Tomato Sauce with Summer Pasta

Two good size golden tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 good size cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a small handful of chopped parsley
1/4 tsp or more to taste crushed red pepper flakes
sea salt to taste
A few good slugs of olive oil

Put your shallot and garlic in a sauce pan with olive oil. Simmer a bit until things start to soften. Add the tomatoes and parsley. Stir in more olive oil and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally as the tomatoes begin to break down. Cover and let simmer 5-10 minutes. Blend to desired smoothness with an immersion blender.

Summer Pasta
1/2 package of pasta of your liking, we used penne
1 summer squash sliced thinly and chopped (we used a lovely asian heirloom version of avocado squash whose name I can't remember from the greenmarket, but zucchini or other summer squash would be fine. )
2 garlic cloves, chopped
olive oil
fresh basil
Prosciutto (I had pancetta in my head, but ended up with prosciutto, and I know you really shouldn't cook it if you're a food purist, but whatever)
Fresh parmigiana for serving.

Cook your pasta to package directions. Drain, set aside. Add your garlic to a pan with olive oil, saute. Add the squash, saute just a few minutes, add prosciutto if you like, though this could certainly just be with vegetables.

Mix the pasta with the veggies with a bit more olive oil so things aren't sticking together. Add torn fresh basil leaves after you take it off the heat. Serve topped with your golden sauce and freshly grated cheese. YUM.