Working with fresh tomatoes

We picked up some sausage last week from the farmer who runs our CSA, and I was actually stumped as to how to use it. Lately we’ve been eating a lot of vegetarian meals, picking things based on the vegetables we get for the week. So I hunted through the sausage recipes on epicurious.com and found a wonderful pasta dish. (I really should cut back on the pasta. Maybe next week.) It called for a 28 oz. can of pureed tomatoes, but I wanted to use fresh instead. Preparing them seemed like it would be a lot of work, but it really wasn’t so bad. Since it was a learning experience for me, I’m sharing a little primer here.

First, start a large pot of boiling water. Also, fill a bowl with cold water and throw in some ice cubes. Cut out the stem of four tomatoes (for the recipe below) and slice off the bottom. Then score each with a knife, top to bottom, and around the sides.

Then, drop the tomatoes into the boiling water and let them sit for about 60 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove them, and plunge them into the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. You will see the skins have loosened.

Once cool, peel off the skin, slice each tomato into fourths and scoop out all the seeds. I just stuck my fingers into the crevices and pulled them out. I felt like I was back in biology class dissecting a pig.

Since I wanted them pureed, I stuck them in the food processor and ran it until no big chunks were left. And that was it. Once we get more tomatoes in, I hope to make a big batch of sauce this way. That’s one way to prolong the summer!

Now, where those tomatoes ended up:

Click below for the recipe

Orecchiette with Sausage and Creamy Tomato Sauce, adapted from Epicurious.com

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 good-sized tomatoes, pureed, or 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/2 cup half and half
1 pound orecchietta or farfalle pasta
1/2 cup fresh basil, chiffonade cut
fresh Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and half and half. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish. Sprinkle with basil. Serve, passing cheese separately.