I went to the farmer’s market on Alemany with Melissa on Saturday and picked up a bunch of heirloom tomatoes and pickling cucumbers for Saturday’s jewish pickle party. Two friends and I assembly-lined 13 jars of simple pickles to take care of the cukes and green beans. I’ve never made red pasta sauce, so I winged it with the tomatoes and made a pretty delicious sauce if I do say so myself.

Ziggle's Red

Ziggle’s Red

Best thing is to start with over-ripe or mushy tomatoes. If you ask at any farmer’s market for the tomatoes they’re going to throw away you can get a good bargain. I bought 5 pounds of heirlooms for 75 cents/lb. Cut off the bad parts and stems with a good knife and drop them all into boiling water for 30-60 seconds. It should look like this:

Scalding Tomatoes

Then take them out and throw them in cold water. The skins should split and you should be able to just slip them right off. Slice up the skinned tomatoes into small chunks and put them all in your sauce pot. Let that simmer for 30 minutes or so while you prepare the rest.

Saute garlic, onions and whatever else you like (mushrooms?) and when it’s nice and browned, toss in with the tomatoes. Now spice the whole mess with your favorite flavors. I used salt, pepper, fresh chopped basil and a little oregano. I’ve heard some tomatoes make a sour sauce and you might need sugar. But these heirlooms made a sweet and delicious red sauce. Good luck.