Fresh Yellow tomato sauce may be the best tomato sauce I have ever made. It is late summer now, and all the tomato plants are starting to go crazy. We are lucky in Colorado this year. We haven’t had a frost yet, making the tomatoes keep growing merrily along. Yes, I only planted one yellow tomato plant, but it has gone crazy. I have more yellow tomatoes than I could ever eat BLTs and tomato galettes. It has produced 8 pounds of big round juicy sunny yellow tomatoes so far, with more ripening now. So what does one do with tomatoes? You make sauce! But Yellow tomatoes are more delicate in flavor, so I wanted to make a bright and lively sauce.
I added some white onion, garlic, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and just a little sugar to balance it out. The end result was so delicious. Next, I cooked up some spaghetti, and after one bite, I got a bright smile on my face. It is refreshingly light and delicate but hearty enough to stand on its own without any adornments except for a little basil and a bit more parm. I could eat huge bowls of this stuff with no problem.
This Fresh Yellow Tomato sauce could easily be scaled up to make big batches and canned or frozen. It keeps its beautiful sunny yellow color and, in the winter, you could have a big bowl of sunshine. Of course, I would wait until you use the sauce to add the fresh basil to keep the flavors bright. But you could add it before freezing if you also have an abundance of basil growing in your garden. I used a fine mesh strainer and a stick blender to make a smooth velvety sauce, but if you want to have a rustic sauce, you can skip that part.
OK, that is all for this week! I absolutely love this recipe for Fresh Yellow Tomato sauce. I’m eyeing all the rest of those beautiful bright yellow tomatoes ripening on my crazy plant and excited to make more sauce so I can have some this winter! Please think of others in your choices. We all need to get through this crazy world together somehow. Until next time
Fresh yellow tomatoes in a light, fresh sauce
- 2 ½ lbs. yellow tomatoes
- 4 Tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 large white onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon good balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- For topping
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- More Parmesan cheese
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Heat a kettle or pot of water to a boil.
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While the water is heating up, cut an X on the bottom of each tomato to make it easier to peel.
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Place the tomatoes into a big heat-proof bowl.
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When the water has begun to boil, pour the hot water over the tomatoes and let sit for 2 minutes.
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Drain the water and remove the tomatoes (But keep the bowl handy). Let cool briefly, as they are hot.
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The skins should easily peel right off.
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Quarter the tomatoes and remove the core.
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Place the tomatoes back in the bowl and set them aside.
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Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a wide-bottomed Dutch oven or saucepan. Over a very gentle heat, sauté the onions until they are soft but not browned.
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Add the garlic and let cook for one minute to get fragrant.
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Turn up the heat to medium and add the tomatoes to the pan.
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Let the mixture boil, then turn the heat back down and let simmer covered for one hour, stirring occasionally.
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You can use a potato masher to encourage the tomatoes to break up further if you wish, or I used a stick blender to get it really smooth.
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Optionally if you want to get all fancy, I passed the puree through a fine mesh strainer to get all the seeds out and placed the puree back in the pot. It is fabulous either way.
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Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sugar to the pan. Bring it back to a gentle simmer and cook for an additional 30 minutes or so to thicken, stirring occasionally.
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Take off the heat and stir in the ¼ cup of parmesan cheese.
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Taste the sauce to see if it needs any more salt.
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When ready to use, add the fresh basil and more parmesan cheese if desired
This sauce can be made a day or two ahead and heats up beautifully. And it freezes perfectly for up to 6 months.
