The Love of My Life

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Tomatoes are the love of my life (after my hubby and kids I suppose). I am so obsessed with tomatoes that it dictates a few of my summer months - getting to the market, selecting the right combination from Billy's, preparing salads, caprese and pastas to eat, and cooking up soups and sauces to freeze. I am wild about good tomatoes. So, you can imagine my delight when I came across a new vendor at the Ballard farmers market two weeks ago. Tomato Goodness  is selling jarred tomato sauces using all fresh, local, organic ingredients - including Billy's tomatoes. I was so excited. Last night I used my jar of Summer Sauce (tomato sauce with basil and roasted garlic) and it was delicious. It was good enough to just use as is, but I wanted to try a new recipe so I dolled it up a bit.

I used Rustichella d'Abruzzo Strozzapretti noodles that I bought at Delaurenti. I love that brand of noodles in any shape. I also bought really good ricotta at Delaurenti. It's nice to buy cheese there because it's not pre-packaged so you can buy smaller amounts of really great quality cheese for less.

My husband and I both loved this pasta. It was easy to make, simple flavors, but very fresh tasting. The ricotta was a fun new flavor to have in pasta too.


Pasta with Tomato Sauce & Ricotta
Inspired by Rachel Eats

1T olive oil (or more)
1/2 T butter
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 t minced garlic
1 jar Tomato Goodness Summer Sauce
1 package noodles
1/2 cup good ricotta cheese

Fill a large pot with water and place over medium heat.

Heat olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft. Then add carrots and saute for a few minutes, then celery, then garlic. Once everything is softened (careful not to burn), add the tomato sauce and a sprinkle of salt. Simmer for an hour.

Bring your pan with water to a boil. Season with salt (enough to taste like the sea), then cook noodles until al dente. Using a strainer or skimmer, remove pasta and transfer to the sauce pan, adding noodles one scoop at a time until it's the right balance. (I like my noodles saucy). Stir to coat.

Put noodles in bowls and top with a dollop of ricotta cheese.
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