Easy Vegan Pasta with Garden Heirloom Tomato Sauce Vierge
Heirloom tomatoes, basil, and parsley shine in this mouthwatering Provençal sauce, with the vibrant combination of garlic, lemon, and the bright zip of capers. And you don't even need to cook it! All lovingly tossed into a fresh bowl cozy pasta. You can serve this dish either warm or cold. It's a ridiculously flavorful combination that'll be ready in minutes!
Ingredients
- 2.6 pounds (1.2 kg) fresh tomatoes, preferably heirlooms, but any tomatoes will do
- ½ cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 6 large cloves (40 g) garlic, finely minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons (1 g) lemon zest, finely-grated
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) lemon juice, freshly-squeezed
- ½ cup (30 g) fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- ½ cup (30 g) fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) capers, drained
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 pound (454 g) uncooked pasta, in preferred size or shape
- 1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 g) fine salt, or to taste
Instructions
Dice the tomatoes:
- Cut tomatoes into large chunks and place them in a colander. Stir and shake to drain excess liquid while preparing the remaining ingredients. Your yield should be about 4 cups (800g) after draining.
Make the sauce vierge:
- To a large mixing bowl, add the olive oil, minced garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- Add in the parsley, basil, capers, and black pepper.
- Add the drained tomatoes to the sauce. Stir and allow it to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to blend while cooking the pasta.
Cook the pasta:
- In a large pot, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
- Drain the pasta.
Combine the sauce and pasta:
- Once the sauce has rested, add salt to taste and stir to blend. It should have enough flavor to blend with the pasta.
- Add the cooked pasta to the bowl with the sauce and toss gently to coat.
Serve:
- Serve the pasta immediately if you’d like to eat it warm, or refrigerate if you’d like to serve as a chilled pasta salad. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use fresh ingredients: Choose the most-flavorful tomatoes you can find. If you don't have access to heirlooms, try using cherry tomatoes or vine-ripened tomatoes. Also make sure you use a good-quality olive oil and fresh herbs if possible.
- Drain the diced tomatoes well: This removes the excess liquid to prevent your sauce from being too watery when tossed with the pasta.
- Let the sauce rest while cooking the pasta: This is crucial to allow the flavors in the sauce to blend harmoniously before adding to the pasta.
- Add the salt after resting: In my trials, I found that adding the salt in the beginning drew out too much moisture from the tomatoes. We want them to retain their lush juiciness for the sauce. So we'll add it just before tossing with the pasta to retain the best texture and flavor.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!