Spaghetti With Green Tomato Sauce
We pulled the tomatoes from our garden last week as after a very bountiful season, they had given up and decided they were finished and were not going to produce any more tomatoes this year. From the dead tomato plants, I ended up picking one large bowl of tomatoes, mostly plum tomatoes, that were still green and brought them into the house.
There are many things one can do with green tomatoes, but these were small plum tomatoes so frying them was out, and I didn’t have enough to make green tomato pickles. I decided instead to make a green tomato pasta sauce to go over spaghetti for dinner that evening.
This sauce is quite unique because the tomatoes still have an acidic flavor before they ripen giving the sauce almost a lemon flavor. The sauce is very simple to assemble and is a fantastic way to use up any leftover green tomatoes in your garden at the end of the season.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele
Spaghetti With Green Tomato Sauce
A unique way to use up leftover green tomatoes at the end of the harvest.
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 Medium to Large Green Tomatoes
- 2 Large Garlic Cloves
- 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
- 1/2 to 1 Whole Finely Chopped Red Hot Chili Pepper
- 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
- 1 Pound Spaghetti or Other Pasta of Choice
To Serve:
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Wash and dry the tomatoes, removing stems and then slice thinly discarding cores.
- Slice the garlic and heat in olive oil over medium heat; when garlic is lightly golden add the tomatoes.
- Season with salt, pepper and chopped red chili.
- Stir the tomatoes and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes begin to caramelize and soften.
- Add basil and taste the sauce, adjusting seasonings as needed.
- Turn down heat to very low while you cook the pasta.
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water and save a small cup of the pasta water to thin the sauce before you drain the pasta.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, heat together, and add a little of the pasta water to thin.
- Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
This was great, exactly what I was looking for to feel like I was getting every last bit of tomato goodness from those green babies left on the plant at the end of the year. I ended up de-glazing the pan with a splash of veggie broth at the very end. Was fantastic, everyone in the family loved it!