Creamy Cherry Tomato Sauce

This creamy cherry tomato sauce is ingenious! I would love to take credit for it; but, alas, I cannot. 

Timing is everything, I had at least two pounds of cherry tomatoes I wanted to use quickly. Susan at Savoring Time In The Kitchen recently made the sauce and shared this winning recipe on her blog. The recipe makes approximately 4 side-dish servings of pasta sauce. In the photo above, it was the perfect lunch for me. I also served the sauce on Bruschettini (snack size Italian Bruschetta Toasts that came in a package from the supermarket) for an appetizer. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I made a second batch with various sized tomatoes since it came out so good.

Here's the recipe from Susan's blog. I didn't change a thing.

2 pounds cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

8-10 fresh oregano leaves, chopped

3 cloves garlic, sliced very thin

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter (reserved for reheating the sauce)

1 pound dried pasta of your choice, cooked and drained

Fresh chopped Italian parsley for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Arranged cut tomatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Scatter sliced garlic and herbs over the tomatoes.

Drizzle all over with olive oil .

Roast, uncovered until tomatoes are very tender, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

Transfer with a slotted spoon to a saucepan. (Don't throw out the oil. Strain it and use it for dipping crusty bread.)

Remove about half of the tomatoes, together with herbs and garlic, and place in a deep mixing bowl and blend with an immersion blender (or use a regular blender) until just barely smooth. Return to the saucepan.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the sauce and heat gently while you prepare the pasta.

Summer is flying by!

Deb