Silky sauce from sun sweetened, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, peaches, fresh basil, with a slight nip.
Peaches and tomatoes may seem an unlikely pairing, but this is truly the ultimate summer sauce recipe! Drum roll, please, for this: easy tomato-peach sauce with basil! When cherry tomatoes are roasted, they become sweet, and when pureed, make this sauce silky and flavorful. Ripe peaches play nicely on the tomatoes’ sweetness and offset their acidity. Fresh basil rounds out the flavor profile of this easy pasta topping. Garlic and red pepper flakes add a slight kick that complements the sweetness. And a tad of white wine adds depth and richness, but it’s optional.
Flavorful produce is key to producing a flavorful sauce with ease as only a handful of ingredients are required. The beauty of seasonal cooking is that it simply highlights the produce without complicating it with a bunch of extra ingredients. If you don’t have a garden giving you ample amounts of cherry tomatoes this time of year, the farmers’ market is a great place to pick some up! If a market is not available to you, however, you can pick some up at your local grocery store. Ripe and flavorful is key, though, for the best results.
This is such an easy sauce to make, and the method is no fail. Roasting the tomatoes in the oven, prevents the necessity of standing over the hot stove mid-August for hours on end, while your sauce reduces down into a thick, drool worthy topping. The oven makes the cooking time hands off while also reducing it. Once your tomatoes and onions are roasted, you puree them and then simmer them on the stove, with the garlic and splash of wine, if using. The peaches are mashed into the sauce with a potato masher or even a sturdy fork. The seasonings are stirred in along with the fresh basil. That’s it. So easy but seriously good. And, it can be doubled or tripled, even, and also freezes amazingly well! So many wins! 🙂
This easy tomato-peach sauce with basil can be served any number of ways. You can use it any way you use tomato sauce, but because of the unique flavor, the homemade feels, and the classiness of the wine, this is upscale enough for company. Scoop the sauce over spaghetti noodles, ladle it over rice, or go for something fancy, such as enjoying it over grilled shrimp. You could be a little bold, too, and upgrade your pizza or tacos with it, or stir in some cream to make it into a soup and have grilled cheese sandwiches on the side. Whatever your tomato sauce needs are, this is the perfect summer recipe for tomato sauce with a twist!
Cherry tomatoes - Provides the bulk of the sauce. Cherry tomatoes become sweet and tangy when roasted because their flavor is so concentrated, but if you don’t have enough cherry tomatoes, you can supplement them with a ripe, regular tomato, such as heirloom or beefsteak.
Peaches - Make sure your peaches are flavorful! Plays well with the tomatoes’ sweetness, sort of like pineapple on pizza. Unless of course you don’t like pineapple on your pizza, in that case………still try this recipe! 🙂
Onion - Aromatic for flavor. Use white or yellow.
Garlic - This aromatic adds a peppery punch.
White Wine - Adds a depth of flavor and richness. I’m not a wine expert, but I used a slightly dry, relatively sweet white wine. Use a white wine you like, though. The amount is minimal, and the alcohol is simmered off, but this ingredient is optional.
Red Pepper Flakes - A bit of spice to contrast the sweetness of the peaches and roasted tomatoes.
Fresh Basil - Perfectly complements the acidity of the tomatoes and peaches. Fresh is a necessity practically; sub for dried at your own risk. 😬
Salt - Of course! Salt brings out the other flavors and melds them together!
Love using fresh basil? Check out these other recipes while summer lasts! Quick and Easy Curry Basil Pasta, Easy Green Goddess Hummus, Baked Basil Polenta with Strawberry-Tomato Balsamic Topping.
EASY TOMATO-PEACH SAUCE WITH BASIL (GF, V, DF, VG, SD)
Yield: 2-3 cups
What You'll Need:
2 heaping cups cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup white wine, optional
½ cup fresh chopped basil
¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ - 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
How To Make it
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a baking dish, toss the cherry tomatoes and onion with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until evenly coated. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover the tomato mixture and continue baking until some of the tomatoes have slightly charred spots and look nicely roasted, about an additional 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then puree.
2. Over medium low heat, warm the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a medium pan. Add the minced garlic and keep moving to prevent burning. Cook until fragrant and shimmering, about a minute, then add the pureed tomatoes.
3. Bring the tomatoes to a simmer, then add the diced peaches. As the tomato sauce cooks, mash the peaches into the sauce until there are no large pieces left. Then add the wine, if using, along with the red pepper flakes, ¼ - ⅓ cup of the basil, and about ½ teaspoon of salt. Simmer for about 15 minutes. The sauce should look thickened.
4. Add the remaining basil. Taste, and adjust seasonings. If serving over pasta, optionally top with feta or parmesan cheese. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, or freeze them for future meals.
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Abby
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