Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Tomato pasta

Everybody knows how to make a tomato pasta. And everybody has their own way of making it. Here is mine. Or one version of it, because of course there are several different ways of eating tomatoes or tomato sauce on pasta. Im not giving a formal recipe, it all comes down to taste and preference.

  • Start by making the sauce: Peel and slice 1 large onion. Fry in some olive oil until caramelized. Add one 400 g can of peeled tomatoes. Add one 200 g can of tomato coulis. Add two TBSP of balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of freshly squeezed lemon juice.. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes to reduce the sauce until thick.
  • Boil fresh or a packet of spaghetti for 4 people according to the instructions. Fresh pasta takes two minutes to be al dente. Drain and pour into a large serving bowl.
  • Pour the sauce ove the pasta. Shred a handful of basil leaves onto the pasta and drizzle with some olive oil.
  • Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Serves 4 people

Suggestions

  • I prefer to serve the tomato sauce with either fresh spaghetti or fresh linguine.
  • Add a tsp of sugar if you prefer a slightly sweeter sauce.
  • If you use fresh tomatoes, peel the tomatoes first and make the cooking time a bit longer.
  • You can also add some tomato paste to the sauce for a deeper tomato taste.

Winter in Provence.

Saint Saturnin les Apt. This is our town and here are a few images of it in winter. Provence is quiet in winter with most places closed. But that doesn’t take away from its beauty.

Village house

Village house in St Saturnin les apt

Joseph Talon, the father of Trufficulture

la mairie de St Saturnin les Apt

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Semi oven dried tomatoes.

I prefer semi dried tomatoes to fully dried ones. They are much more flavorful than the often leathery and chewy dried tomatoes. In a salad they are unbeatable, with pasta unforgettable and as a crostini for apero with a glass of wine , just delightful. I don’t give quantities in this recipe, it depends on how many tomatoes you have on hand. I used tomatoes from our potager which is bountiful at the moment. So come on, make your summer linger a bit longer and dry some seasonal tomatoes, from your own vegetable patch or from the market!

Recipe:

  • plum or roma tomatoes
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil and sunflower oil
  • dried provencal herbs
  1. Preheat the oven to 130 degrees C.
  2. Line baking trays with baking paper.
  3. Wash and dry the tomatoes, cut in half and remove the seeds.
  4. Place the tomatoes in rows, cut side up on to the baking trays.
  5. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Bake for about 2 hours or until the tomatoes start to curl up at the sides. Turn the heat down to 100 degr C and bake for another hour. Keep an eye on the tomatoes from now on so they don’t burn.
  7. Remove from the oven, leave to cool and add tightly packed to glass jars with lids and fill with olive oil or a mix of olive oil and sunflower oil, Store in fridge. ( Will keep for about 2 weeks) Use the oil for cooking or vinaigrette.

In the potager.

Tomatoes from the potager.

Wash and dry the tomatoes.

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.

Place cut side up onto baking tray.