Linguine With Raw Sauce

I first came across this recipe for pasta with raw sauce last summer while looking for tomato recipes in anticipation of our bountiful crop of heirloom beauties. The idea of an uncooked "sauce" was a revelation to me. I had to try it. After all, who wants to babysit a big pot of marinara in the middle of summer? I know I don't. This turned out to be so fresh tasting and easy to put together. Perfect for a summer meal and just the thing to highlight the flavor of our homegrown tomatoes.

I only had a chance to make this a few times though; we moved a couple of months later. It just killed me that it was right at the height of tomato season. We picked whatever was ripe at the time and gave the plants to friends. Our new home doesn't have room or sun enough for tomato growing on the scale we had at the old place. It makes me kind of sad to see the photos of our old garden again. I miss it. Don't get me wrong, the house was a slum and we're grateful to be away from there. The garden however... was an oasis.

Linguine With Raw Sauce 
Adapted from: this recipe at seriouseats.com

Serves: 4

1 lb linguine
10-12 small tomatoes, or 5-6 large ones
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Enough olive oil to cover
6 ounces fresh mozzarella, grated or diced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch the tomatoes for 30 seconds. Remove tomatoes, drain and let cool slightly. Slit the skins with a sharp knife and peel them off. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the pulp and seeds. Chop the tomatoes into a coarse dice.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the chopped tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let mixture stand and marinate for an hour (longer if possible).

3. Cook the pasta until al dente in salted water. Drain, then add the cooked pasta to the tomato mixture and toss. Add the mozzarella and toss again. Serve immediately.

My Notes (7/18/08): Added lots more tomatoes (cherry toms didn't work well, too labor intensive) and marinated them for well over an hour. 1 clove of garlic was MORE than plenty! Yowza. Added lots more of our own fresh basil and more black pepper. Cut up half a container of mini mozzarella balls (happened to have them in the fridge). Next time use the whole container of mini mozzarella balls or just get a regular mozzarella ball. A cheap Zin from Trader Joe's (don't remember which) went pretty well with it. The Hubs snarfed it down and even had seconds... said it "was o.k." when asked to comment.