Recipe: Sauce of Plum Tomatoes, Shallots, and Butter

SAUCE OF PLUM TOMATOES, SHALLOTS, AND BUTTER

"This is a quick sauce that blends excellently with fresh egg pasta. Note the use of shallots and butter instead of the usual onion and olive oil. This produces a sweeter, more delicate sauce."

2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 shallots, thinly sliced
15 ripe plum tomatoes (2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and chopped into small dice*
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and saut until soft, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, turn up the heat a bit, and cook until they soften and give off juice, another 5 to 6 minutes. Cover the pan while cooking the tomatoes, if you want more liquid in your sauce. The sauce will taste sweet, like a slightly heightened ripe tomato, and be bright red. Add salt and pepper and a little extra butter if desired.

I like this sauce a little chunky, but if you want a smoother texture, pulse it briefly in a food processor.

*The best fresh plum (also called Roma) tomatoes are available in the summer, but I often see acceptable-looking ones during the fall and early winter, and if they're dark red, soft, and smell like tomatoes, I buy them. Sometimes they're quite good; sometimes they're mealy and tasteless, so taste one before you cook with it.

Ideas: If you like the taste of green tomatoes, substitute them here. The sauce will be tart but lively. Choose ones with tiny flecks of red in the skin. Very firm green tomatoes are a bit too sour.

Makes enough sauce for 1 pound of pasta
Source: Pasta Improvvisata by Erica De Mane