The Secret Sauce of Midsummer
Having grown up in a non Italian household in America, even though there was the occasional homemade fresh tomato sauce, Vero founder, Sheila Donohue, thought that pasta sauce was to be bought in a store and not made at home. When she moved to Italy in 2001, she continued to buy pasta sauces, or occasionally made her mom’s tomato sauce recipe. Then, slowly, she caught on that in Italy pasta is served with a homemade sauce using fresh vegetables and herbs, usually what was in season, and often improvising by using what you had lying around in the fridge. Which is why we like to share recipes on pasta sauces, like how we shared this sugo recipe using springtime vegetables.
With the dog days of summer upon us, garden tomatoes are red and juicy on the plant, ready to be used. Summertime provides a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables to use fresh from the garden much like in the springtime. But here, we get the addition of fresh tomatoes ready for harvest. Tomatoes can be a prolific plant, and sometimes it takes some imagination to use all that bounty without resorting to canning a fresh tomato sauce.
A fresh bounty from forager, Beatrice Callia’s garden, in the hills of Bologna, Italy.
Summertime Tomatoes
With tomato plants being a staple of summer gardens, they provide a plentiful harvest when grown in the right conditions. A cherry tomato plant is just as bountiful, and they have the added benefit that cherry tomatoes do well in a pot. While they can get big, when pruned correctly, a cherry tomato plant is a great addition to a summer balcony for do-it-your-self homegrown cherry tomatoes. Whether you have planted one of the many tomato types or a cherry tomato plant, come harvest time, you will be wondering what to do with all of the delicious homegrown tomatoes lying around your house.
Once you have used your tomatoes to make a BLT, bruschetta, and Panzanella salads, you can begin to to add them to your pinzimonio. But what would be more delicious then using them to make a fresh tomato sauce and cherry tomatoes pasta? As our own chef, Jacqueline Mitchell, who works in a local favorite trattoria in the Langhe Italy, says, ‘This is a pasta sauce quick to whip up with few ingredients that is light and easy for warm summer months. You can use either cherry tomatoes or chop up larger fresh tomatoes, depending on what you have in your garden or have found at the local market. It is a variation on a classic recipe used by many Italian families to create an easy summer lunch.’ Of course, she adds, ‘My non-Italian mom used to make a dish like this with butter instead of extra virgin olive oil, but I find that if you can get your hands on a good Organic EVOO it really lightens the dish and adds a pop of unique flavor over the succulent cherry tomato.’
And what are some of Jacqueline’s tips for this tomato sugo recipe? ‘Try to use a shorter pasta (such as rigatoni, shells, or penne) that will be easier to scoop up with the cherry tomatoes. But if you are in the mood to create a full dish from scratch, try your hand at making some Nettle Pasta, Tajarin or Lasagnette egg pastas. As well, if you are a garlic fan, you don’t have to use and discard the garlic clove. Alternatively, you can chop it up the to sauté in the first step with the onion, or even let it cook whole with the tomatoes and mash it or chop it once well cooked. I do it both ways, depending on the garlic sensitivity of who is eating with me… it is delicious with or without garlic!’
Now, what wine should we pair with this dish?
Wine Pairing with Tomatoes
Tomatoes (and cherry tomatoes as well) are a fairly ubiquitous ingredient that appears in a great many cuisines and dishes. They add a layer of sweetness when very ripe, but also marked acidity to a dish. This can sometimes make it tricky to pair wine with a dish like our cherry tomato sauce below, but we are here to help. You need a wine that is soft and rounded enough to help counterbalance the acidity, but that also keeps a fair amount of acidity to not let the tomato’s sweetness take over the dish. In fact, tomatoes are an interesting way to try out some food pairing for Sauvignon Blanc. With this pasta recipe, we recommend to pair it with an expressive natural white wine like this Sauv Blanc from Austria. It also pairs well with a chillable red like this light and fresh Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo which is made from the Montepulciano grape.
Time to Taste Test
Now, we have done our part and written up our chef’s recipe below and suggested what food and wine pairings to go with this recipe… the rest is up to you! Download the recipe below to use in the kitchen and order wine online to serve alongside your cherry tomato masterpiece. Try a sauvignon blanc from biodynamic wine producer Michi Lorenz with his Klassik, Schist Happens, or Halo. Or, as we recommended above, pop a bottle of light red wine Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo from natural wine producer Febo fridge to chill to enjoy with this recipe as well.
Don’t forget the cherry (tomato) on the sundae as well… top it all off with a drizzle of flavorful and antioxidant rich EVOO. Vero has several organic extra virgin olive oils to choose from, like the Tuscan Aurinia and Caletra, Abruzzese Febo, or Il Nostro Oro from Le Marche.
Buon appetito!
Pasta Pomodorini e Basilico - Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce with Fresh Basil
Cooking and Prep Time: 30 mins
Portions: 4 portions
Ingredients:
400g Uncooked Pasta
4 cups Cherry Tomatoes (or cubed tomatoes)
1 small Onion, diced
1 Garlic clove, whole (optional)
¼ cup Basil, chopped
Salt, to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Il Nostro Oro, Febo, Aurinia, or Caletra)
To Serve:
Grated Parmesan, if desired
Organic EVOO, if desired
Suggested Wine Pairings:
Michi Lorenz | Sauvignon Blanc Klassik
Michi Lorenz | Schist Happens Sauvignon Blanc
Michi Lorenz | Halo Sauvignon Blanc
Febo | Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo | Light Red Natural Wine
Procedure:
1. Begin by cutting cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters (or chopping whole tomatoes into cubes) as desired and set aside.
2. Sauté diced onions with whole optional garlic clove and olive oil until soft and translucent. Add tomatoes and salt, let cook over low. When tomatoes are soft and slightly shriveled, remove from heat, add chopped basil, and remove garlic clove. Set aside.
3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta according to package directions (or make your own Tajarin or Lasagnette). Drain and mix sauce and pasta, stirring well.
4. Plate and garnish with freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of organic EVOO.
Cherry Tomato Pasta made with rigatoni.
Need to Order Wine Online to Pair?
Coming from an area known for some of the best Sauvignon Blancs in the world, in the Südsteiermark subzone of in the South Styria of Austria, at 400m altitude with hand picked harvesting, this lemon yellow color sauvignon blanc has an intense bouquet of lemon, lemongrass and flint. It has citrus and apple flavors with a hint of lemongrass. It has great acidity and a long, sapid finish. Soils are red schist and loam. After 24 hours of skin maceration, the fruit was fermented with native yeast and aged in stainless steel. Minimal sulfur additions.
This unfiltered sauvignon blanc natural wine is playfully named after the limestone, mineral-rich soil where it was cultivated. It’s from the Sudsteiermark, or South Styria, Austria, known for some of the best sauvignon blanc in the world. It has a bright lemon yellow color with an intense reductive nose that has curious complex aromas that develop more once it breaths, such as tropical fruit aromas. The taste has a 'wow' factor with racy, prickly acidity, really nice texture a VERY long mineral finish. Think of what it’s like to lick a rock - this is it! This is your ‘atypical’ Sauvignon blanc, made from a mix of 9 different Michi Lorenz’s estate vineyards, some early, mid and late harvests, and across 4 different vintages using the complex solaris method. A real one-of-a-kind sauvignon blanc.
A natural, and certified organic and biodynamic wine made with native yeast fermentation.
Cloudy mandarin orange color late harvest Sauvignon Blanc natural wine from one the best places in the world for Sauvignon Blanc leads to a saline and yeasty nose with a bit of lemongrass notes. It has laser-like, linear acidity and is super tasty, with great fruit and salinity. It is a 'meaty' orange wine with nice mouthfeel and slight tannins. This Sauvignon Blanc is from the Sudsteiermark region of Austria in South Styria.
This skin-contact orange wine is crafted with native yeast fermentation by certified organic and biodynamic Austrian winery Michi Lorenz.
While made as a rosé wine, this Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is actually more like a light red wine thanks to the dark pigments of the Montepulciano grapes used, farmed on Febo family’s estate vineyards in Abruzzo.
The minimal intervention approach of this natural wine producer results in a lot of vintage variation year after year. For example, the 2021 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo has a cherry taste with a salty finish, and is considered a “serious” rosé wine while the 2024 is a Rosorange color that bursts with blood orange flavors mixed with cherry.
Region: Italy > Abruzzo > Spoltore & Chieti
Tastes Like: 2021 - Cherries | 2024 - Tart cherries and blood orange
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Winery | Biodynamic | Native Yeast Fermentation | Vegan | Organic | Natural Wine
Fun Facts: Both vintages are fermented with native yeast and refined in the winegrower's grandparents' concrete vessels. Great chilled and a good pairing is eggplant parmesan.
Or Italian Olive Oil to Use?
This is an olive oil, super food for super foodies. This is small production organic & vegan extra virgin olive oil made primarily from a rare local cultivar from the area of Macerata Italy called Piantone de Mogliano. The buttery flavors and taste of this organic EVOO so inspired the family behind Quercia Scarlatta farm and winery in Le Marche Italy to name it ‘our gold’, or Il Nostro Oro.
Hand harvested and milled at the family’s farm, a first run, cold press evoo, this olive oil’s aromas remind you of stepping into a garden full of fresh green beans with a whiff of black pepper. Likewise, tasting it is like having fresh green beans with black pepper and butter, thanks to its buttery texture. Black pepper continues on the finish.
This organic extra virgin olive oil comes in a 3 liter container, made for following the Mediterranean diet to a tee!
From the hills of Abruzzo near the Adriatic Coast of Italy, comes this Organic EVOO, or Extra Virgin Olive Oil, farmed and made by the Febo family. Farmed sustainably and organic, this natural extra virgin olive oil is also vegan and, like all evoos, a first run - cold press olive oil, the best kind of olive oil for you.
The 2024 harvest is still made from a blend of olives like leccino and 500 year old trees, but now it is mostly the dritta cultivar.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic
Fun Facts: The dritta cultivar is a rare one being saved by Davide Febo who is trying to save and rehabilitate it.
This is a woman made, limited production first cold press organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Maremma hills of Tuscany made from a blend of four Tuscan cultivars. Buttery deliciousness with a bitter kick at the end, thanks to its polyphenols. It has won gold medals in a competition which judges the best extra virgin organic olive oils from around the world.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
A prestigious first cold press monocultivar organic extra virgin olive oil from the Maremma hils of Tuscany which has won best organic extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany! Its polyphenols which are used to determine how good an olive oil is, are exceptionally high!
Top awards include extra gold, as best Tuscan organic EVOO by Biol Novello which evaluates the best olive oils in the world. In the past this olive oil has also won Best in Italy, as well as Gambero Rosso 3 leaves (their highest rating).
Its aromas of grass, green pepper and mint lead to an intense hot pepper taste and a long finish with black pepper lingering in your mouth. Even just a little drizzled over a simple lettuce salad will bring it to life with flavor.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
