The perfect tomato harvest recipe: Sun Sauce

Credit: Sharon Hanna

Sun-ripened tomatoes call for a wonderful recipe that my friend Marianne Grittani turned me onto. Perhaps it’s her Maltese and Italian lineage—Marianne is an inspired cook and makes everything look easy. But this sauce is dead easy, and tastes out of this world.

You could use bought tomatoes if you don’t have enough or don’t want to use your own for this—try to find Campari, grown locally in hothouses—smallish, with a sweet/tart flavour. Quarter the small ones, and chop the larger ones up a bit more. If you feel like it, remove the skins before tossing the tomatoes into your Sun Sauce. I also like a lot of garlic so might increase the amount to 3 or 4 good-sized cloves—many of us have freshly-harvested garlic now as well to use in this recipe! 

Marianne’s Sun Sauce recipe

2 cups chopped tomatoes (halve or quarter cherry tomatoes if you use them)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 cloves or more of garlic, finely chopped or grated on a “plane”
Salt and pepper
Bocconcini cut into bite-sized pieces (or substitute fresh mozzarella)
The best extra virgin olive oil

Combine everything in a bowl and add enough olive oil to barely cover. Set it in a sunny spot outside for the day, or at least a few hours, away from family pets.

At supper time, put on a pot of water, add salt, bring to a boil, and add pasta of your choice. When done to your liking, drain it and add immediately to the sauce (or your sauce to it) and toss. The bocconcini will become nice and gooey and melted. Top each serving with some grated parmesan, romano or asiago cheese and freshly ground pepper—and enjoy!