I’m always looking for speedy supper ideas. As much as I love spending time over the cooker, some nights I really can not be bothered. Those nights tend to be the three nights in the week I’m working in our village co-operative – my ‘getting out of the house’ job where I work a few hours in the afternoon and close up the shop in the evening.
The UK laws on selling foodstuffs are a bit funny. It’s illegal (as far as I am aware) to sell anything past its ‘use by’ date, so I tend to reduce things right down in the hopes someone will buy it before I have to throw it in the bin. Then there’s the ‘best before’ date where food is still ok, for awhile yet at least, but it’s not at its best. It’s still edible.
Like these piccolo cherry tomatoes.
Six packets of these beautiful little ruby red gems were destined for the bin one day when I started my shift. They were just crying out to me to be saved and made into something – salsa, perhaps?
Googling piccolo tomato recipes I found Nigella Lawson’s Moonblush Tomatoes – simply halve the tomatoes, sprinkle with some seasonings, preheat the oven, pop the tomatoes in, switch the oven off and leave it there overnight.
I did just that. My kind of recipe – no work involved!
However, in the morning my tomatoes looked exactly as they did when I put them in the evening before. Clearly Nigella and I have vastly different ovens.
They needed to be salvaged, again, so I switched the oven on to 220C (I have a fan oven), roasted them for 15 minutes, switched the oven off again to let them cool and then blitzed them in my Froothie Optimum 9400 high speed blender.
Win!
My husband taste tested this quick and easy pasta sauce first for his lunch (see, he’s lucky in that he gets to eat my photographs sometimes!) – he loved it.
The biggest test was the kids. They are the fussiest eaters ever, despite my good intentions.
They loved it! The scoffed every bite of their evening meal without having to be coaxed!
As luck should have it too there was enough natural light filtering through the light cloud cover that day so I was able to take a few half decent photographs! Regular readers will know how much I struggle taking photos during these dark winter months.
I served this sauce on some spaghetti alla chitarra, a square spaghetti with a special rough texture which holds sauce beautifully (or so it says on the packet). I’d picked this up recently at the suggestion of our six year old who spotted it in the co-op and suggested we try it, as it was a new pasta, and it was buy one get one free (he’s learning well!).
My recipe is slightly adapted from Nigella’s version in that I upped the quantities, I used smoked Maldon sea salt and garlic infused olive oil from Pomora and then whizzed it all together in my high speed blender. If you don’t have a high speed blender you might want to sieve it first to get all the seeds out, if you (or your children) prefer a smoother sauce. Add an extra teaspoonful of sugar if you want a sweeter sauce. I wonder if it would make a good pizza sauce…
Quick & Easy Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 900 grams piccolo cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 tsp smoked sea salt
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar (or more, to taste)
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 4 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil (I use Pomora, see link in sidebar)
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220 C.
- Halve your cherry tomatoes and arrange them, cut side up, on a baking tray.
- Sprinkle with the remaining ingredients and roast for 15-20 minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly and then puree in a high speed blender.
- Serve over pasta.
Click here to view the nutritional information for this recipe.
OTHER QUICK PASTA SAUCE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
A Tasty Raw Tomato Sauce Recipe by Recipes from a Pantry
Hidden Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Sauce by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Rapid Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce by Feeding Boys
Vegetable & Tomato Pasta Sauce by Citrus Spice
Chilli, Bacon & Chickpea Pasta by Fab Food 4 All
Courgette Spaghetti Alfredo by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Whizz, Bang Pizza Sauce by Tinned Tomatoes
Speedy & Spicy Spaghetti Sauce by The Veg Space
Spaghetti alla puttanesca by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
LINKING UP WITH SOME BLOGGING CHALLENGES
Extra Veg by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy
Credit Crunch Munch by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours
No Waste Food Challenge by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
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Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary is a Froothie Ambassador and she uses the Froothie Optimum 9400 blender, the Froothie Optimum 600 slow juicer and the Optimum ThermoCook to make many of her recipes. These are affiliate links, meaning if you buy a blender or juicer through them we will earn a small commission. This is not a paid post and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
We are also ambassadors for Pomora, a unique UK company providing the opportunity for UK and US readers to adopt an olive tree from farmers in Italy. Any adoption made through our website will earn us a small commission.
Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home, for now. One eye is always on the horizon.
Kirsty Dee says
what a brilliant idea this is, love it. I’m all about simply recipes ☺
Hayley Mulgrove says
Wow this just looks amazing mmm could just eat this right now lol
Leila Benhamida says
Great recipe. Never tried to make tomato sauce with caster sugar. Interesting flavours.
Andrew Petrie says
I’m always looking for dishes like this to help with my ‘squash playing’ diet – and the smoked sea salt is an intriguing idea.
Heather Haigh says
A great recipe for when tomatoes or cheap or I’ve grown a glut.
Maya Russell says
This looks like a top tomato pasta sauce.
Sarah Louise says
This looks so good! I’ve shared it to my twitter x
don erwood says
simple and tasty. goes particularly well with meatballs which are a fave at the moment
Camilla says
This fresh tomato sauce looks just incredible Elizabeth. Thanks for linking to my pasta and for entering #CreditCrunchMunch:-)
Idaintyit says
Looks tasty, im always on the hunt for a new sauce as i get fed up easily
Zoe L says
Oh this looks so tasty, something I think I will definitely need to try
Charlotte says
This sounds delicious! I love simple, tasty sauces! x
Eve Redmond says
Your recipes are incredible; I am DEFINITELY coming round for tea. Lol
Katie says
Oh wow, I definitely want to try this. It sounds so easy and looks SO gooood. Yum!
tracey bowden says
I always end up with tomatoes needing to be eaten and wanting to do something different with them. This sounds perfect and I think even my fussy daughter would love it too.
tracey bowden says
I always end up with tomatoes needing to be eaten and wanting to do something different with them. This sounds perfect and I think even my fussy daughter would love it too.
Angela at Daysinbed says
This looks like a delicious home-made sauce. I’m having a gastric bypass this week and Will be making on my food from scratch from now on. Thanks for a great recipe. Angela at Daysinbed
Sarah Bailey says
Oh yum this sounds absolutely delicious – I have to admit I do love a good pasta sauce. x
Rachel | Beauty and the Bird says
This sounds SO incredibly delicious!! I will definitely be trying this out 🙂
Rhian Westbury says
Anything which is deemed as a quick and easy recipe like this is my kinda recipe too. Tomato based pasta sauces are definitely my favourites as well x
WhatLauraLoves says
I am definitely going to make this for myself. Looks absolutely delicious and so easy to make! xxx
The Nice Nest says
That looks like a great weekday meal and we love tomatoes so I am sure it would be a hit.
leeshastarr says
Mmmm, this looks so yummy. I really want to start making my own sauces, I just buy them from the store but this looks great.
Helen at CAsa Costello says
I don’t care how old those tomatoes are, I’d still demolish them! Pinned for later.
Divya @ Divya's Culinary Journey says
This sauce looks so flavorful and is easy to make. I have some cherry tomatoes in the refrigerator and I was looking for some recipes to try with it. I am going to try this soon. Thanks for the recipe.
Gemma Massey says
Looks super yummy I will have to try 🙂
Tara says
Wow, those little tomatoes sure look scrumptious and your sauce is amazing!!
Jessica says
This sauce sounds amazing and definitely healthier than pre-made sauces from the shop.
Zoë IKIWN says
Well doesn’t this just sound gorgeous?! And seems super easy to make too. As ever, I’m loving your photography and am actually feeling a bit hungry now…. 🙂 x
Jenni - Odd Socks and Lollipops says
Oh wow!! This looks amazing – and those tomatoes! Perfect food for this time of year. Yum!
Lucy Melissa Smith (Hello Beautiful Bear) says
Wow this is really straightforward. We always buy marked down fruit and veg for the freezer so next time I’ll definitely whip a batch of this up.
X
The London Mum says
Such a good idea. I never would have thought to do this with cherry tomatoes, but how simple and genius! x
Ickle Pickle says
This looks so good – I am no good at cooking, but love pasta so even I would happily have a go at this! Thank you! Kaz x
Catstello says
Sounds delish! I will deffo be trying to make this at some point
Renna says
I do this for the kids, although with less herbs. Looks lush and tastes amazing.
Platter Talk says
I love roasted tomato sauce but have never used cherry tomatoes; I can’t wait to try this one! Thanks so much for sharing.
StressedMum says
This sounds lovely, I do love pasta could eat it daily, but my husband isn’t a huge fan so we don’t have it often but he would eat this x
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
Fantastic looking recipe! I love cherry tomatoes – I find that they have way more flavour than any of the plum, salad or beef tomatoes we get near us. This is a fantastic way of harnessing all of that flavour! Thanks
April @ Girl Gone Gourmet says
I love simple sauces like this – especially when they use up things that would otherwise go to waste. I’ve been making a lot of pesto to use up greens, lately – feels good to put everything to good use!
Emma says
My mouth is actually watering just reading this! This is right up my street
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
Sometimes the simplist recipes are the best and this proves that. Such a simple pasta sauce, but I bet it is full of flavour!
Mark, CompassandFork says
I love how how roasting tomatoes concentrates the flavors. The sauce and your pictures are really good.
Kirsten @ Treat Yourself Sweeter says
Oh my gosh… I am sitting here… hungry, can’t be bothered moving… and now… my tummy is growling! This looks so yum!
Helen @ Family-Friends-Food.com says
I love roasting tomatoes – it really brings out the flavour. That spaghetti looks delicious!
Katie Bryson says
A beautifully simple sauce that just lets those cherry tomatoes sing out… I love recipes like this and i’ll be whizzing up a batch of something similar for my boys this week.
Charlotte Braithwaite says
Oh my goodness!
I’m so glad I found your site <3 This recipe looks absolutely amazing!!
I can't wait to try this for my boys!
Off to browse more of your site… I think I might be here for a while 🙂
Charlotte x
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says
what a beautiful recipe – so simple and easy but very delicious!
Life as Mum says
Oh wow! This is my kind of meal! Looks delicious x
Emma White says
oh my looks amazing and so much more tastier than the shop bought jars I buy
Rebecca Smith says
Thanks for sharing this recipe, I can see me making this quite a lot!
Stella says
This will taste so well with some rice or pasta. Nice.
Kacie says
This looks so delicious, bet it tastes so much better than anything you could buy in a jar!
Laura Hartley says
I’ve never made my own sauce before but you make it look so easy I think I’m going to have to give it a try!
Sam Bresnahan says
This sauce is amazing, there is so many things you could do with it!
The ideas are already flowing, using in soups, pasta, as a dip…
I am making myself some this weekend, wish me luck
Rachel says
Your photographs are just absolutely amazing, stunning in fact and I have never thought to make my own tomato sauce, but now, I just might x
Working mum Blog says
This looks so good! I love easy recipes that I can make ahead and use to prepare fresh dinner when I come back from work. Well done on saving the tomatoes too – hate wastage. I get all my veg for nearly nothing at the end of our local market. Everything gets binned so the prices are really low!
Ana De- Jesus says
Now we are speaking the same language. This would be a delicious sauce with spag bol.
Rowan says
The tomatoes look soooo good roasted – almost too good to not gobble up before you make them into a sauce! Thanks for sharing – great recipe
Jaklien says
haha, that bit about leaving them in the oven and nothing happening made me giggle. It turned out okay in the end though. looks very tasty.