Spaghetti with Roasted Heirloom
Tomatoes
By Charlie Burk
click here for printed friendly recipe
After a late start, our heirloom tomatoes are producing at least twenty pounds
a day. We sell thirty pounds a week to a restaurant and some at our stand, but
have plenty left for ourselves, friends and for sauce which is frozen for winter
use.
Heirloom tomatoes have more flavor than paste varieties but contain much
more water which must be evaporated when making sauce. For this reason, I
use a very wide sauté pan with three inch vertical sides. Its large surface area
rapidly concentrates the sauce from four or five pounds of tomatoes resulting
in a lighter sauce than those boiled for longer times.
This Spaghetti with Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes recipe uses roasting to
concentrate the different
flavors of a mix of our
tomatoes. Although
they roast for
a couple of hours, the
hands-on time of
preparation is quite
short, and it takes little
additional effort to make enough for several meals. Freezing it enables peak of
season tomatoes to be enjoyed on the coldest winter day.
Preparation for roasting involves squeezing out the seeds and jelly like pulp
surrounding them which, when strained, yield tomato water which has intense
flavor. It is great as juice or added to soups and stocks, but here I decided to
reduce it to intensify its flavor and to toss the spaghetti in it, providing a
second layer of taste to complement the roasted sauce. Because of this, it is
important to follow the Italian custom of minimally saucing the pasta which
shares equal billing with the “condiments”.
Four to six servings:
1 pound spaghetti, preferably imported and made from 100% Durham wheat
5 pounds best quality local tomatoes, a mix of heirlooms if available
6 – 8 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher or sea salt and ground pepper
¾ cup basil, torn or chopped immediately before using
Preheat oven to 325 degrees on bake or convection bake. Core, and then slice
tomatoes in half crosswise, not from top to bottom. Place a strainer over a bowl
and squeeze seeds and loose pulp into strainer. Set aside to continue draining.
Place tomatoes, cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or
foil. Place garlic cloves individually into tomatoes (there will be fewer garlic
cloves than tomato halves). Sprinkle tomatoes with sea salt and a few grinds of
pepper, and then drizzle generously with olive oil. Place into the oven and
cook for approximately 2 hours. Times will vary, depending on the oven and
size of tomatoes. They are done when there is some caramelization and the
halves have partially collapsed. The tomatoes should still be somewhat moist.
While tomatoes cook, press juice from seeds and pulp through the strainer
with the back of a wooden spoon. Place juice into a small sauce pan and add a
tablespoon of olive oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until
reduced by half. It will change from red to a more orange color which will
nicely color the pasta. Taste and add a small amount of salt if needed; if the
taste is particularly sharp or acidic, whisk in an additional 1 – 2 tablespoons of
olive oil to balance, as would be done with a salad dressing.
Place tomatoes and any juice on the parchment paper into a food processor
and pulse several times. The sauce should have intact pieces of tomato when
done. Taste, adding salt, pepper or additional oil to taste.
Boil pasta in a large volume of salted water until just done (start tasting at 6
minutes). Strain and return to pot, stirring in the reduced tomato juice. Serve
on warmed plates, topping with ¼ - ½ cup of the sauce, sprinkle with grated
parmesan cheese and the chopped basil. Served with a green salad, good
crusty bread and a Chianti Classico, it is typical of meals served in traditional
trattorias in Italy.
This sauce is the third tomato pasta sauce written for our recipe column and is
the most intense of the three - at the opposite end of the spectrum from the
light, uncooked fresh tomato, garlic and basil sauce. The easy cooked sauce,
also in our archives, is somewhere in between and is closest to what is thought
of as “spaghetti sauce”, but the intensity of roasted tomatoes in this version is
not to be missed.
About the author:
An organic farmer and avid cook, writer Charlie Burke is the vice president of
the New Hampshire Farmer'sMarket Association, president of the NH Farm to
Restaurant Connection and helps run the Sanbornton (NH) Farmers' Market.
Along with his wife, Joanne, Charlie grows certified organic herbs, greens and
berries at Weather Hill Farm in Sanbornton, NH.
Tomatoes
By Charlie Burk
click here for printed friendly recipe
After a late start, our heirloom tomatoes are producing at least twenty pounds
a day. We sell thirty pounds a week to a restaurant and some at our stand, but
have plenty left for ourselves, friends and for sauce which is frozen for winter
use.
Heirloom tomatoes have more flavor than paste varieties but contain much
more water which must be evaporated when making sauce. For this reason, I
use a very wide sauté pan with three inch vertical sides. Its large surface area
rapidly concentrates the sauce from four or five pounds of tomatoes resulting
in a lighter sauce than those boiled for longer times.
This Spaghetti with Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes recipe uses roasting to
concentrate the different
flavors of a mix of our
tomatoes. Although
they roast for
a couple of hours, the
hands-on time of
preparation is quite
short, and it takes little
additional effort to make enough for several meals. Freezing it enables peak of
season tomatoes to be enjoyed on the coldest winter day.
Preparation for roasting involves squeezing out the seeds and jelly like pulp
surrounding them which, when strained, yield tomato water which has intense
flavor. It is great as juice or added to soups and stocks, but here I decided to
reduce it to intensify its flavor and to toss the spaghetti in it, providing a
second layer of taste to complement the roasted sauce. Because of this, it is
important to follow the Italian custom of minimally saucing the pasta which
shares equal billing with the “condiments”.
Four to six servings:
1 pound spaghetti, preferably imported and made from 100% Durham wheat
5 pounds best quality local tomatoes, a mix of heirlooms if available
6 – 8 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher or sea salt and ground pepper
¾ cup basil, torn or chopped immediately before using
Preheat oven to 325 degrees on bake or convection bake. Core, and then slice
tomatoes in half crosswise, not from top to bottom. Place a strainer over a bowl
and squeeze seeds and loose pulp into strainer. Set aside to continue draining.
Place tomatoes, cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or
foil. Place garlic cloves individually into tomatoes (there will be fewer garlic
cloves than tomato halves). Sprinkle tomatoes with sea salt and a few grinds of
pepper, and then drizzle generously with olive oil. Place into the oven and
cook for approximately 2 hours. Times will vary, depending on the oven and
size of tomatoes. They are done when there is some caramelization and the
halves have partially collapsed. The tomatoes should still be somewhat moist.
While tomatoes cook, press juice from seeds and pulp through the strainer
with the back of a wooden spoon. Place juice into a small sauce pan and add a
tablespoon of olive oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until
reduced by half. It will change from red to a more orange color which will
nicely color the pasta. Taste and add a small amount of salt if needed; if the
taste is particularly sharp or acidic, whisk in an additional 1 – 2 tablespoons of
olive oil to balance, as would be done with a salad dressing.
Place tomatoes and any juice on the parchment paper into a food processor
and pulse several times. The sauce should have intact pieces of tomato when
done. Taste, adding salt, pepper or additional oil to taste.
Boil pasta in a large volume of salted water until just done (start tasting at 6
minutes). Strain and return to pot, stirring in the reduced tomato juice. Serve
on warmed plates, topping with ¼ - ½ cup of the sauce, sprinkle with grated
parmesan cheese and the chopped basil. Served with a green salad, good
crusty bread and a Chianti Classico, it is typical of meals served in traditional
trattorias in Italy.
This sauce is the third tomato pasta sauce written for our recipe column and is
the most intense of the three - at the opposite end of the spectrum from the
light, uncooked fresh tomato, garlic and basil sauce. The easy cooked sauce,
also in our archives, is somewhere in between and is closest to what is thought
of as “spaghetti sauce”, but the intensity of roasted tomatoes in this version is
not to be missed.
About the author:
An organic farmer and avid cook, writer Charlie Burke is the vice president of
the New Hampshire Farmer'sMarket Association, president of the NH Farm to
Restaurant Connection and helps run the Sanbornton (NH) Farmers' Market.
Along with his wife, Joanne, Charlie grows certified organic herbs, greens and
berries at Weather Hill Farm in Sanbornton, NH.
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