Food Network Magazine (July 2016)
"Hot enough for ya?"
Honestly, gang, we usually hate small-talk about the weather. Yes, it's cold in the winter! Man, it sure is hot in the summer.
But: Man, it sure is hot this summer!
The eastern half of the U.S. spent most of last week trapped under a heat dome. Here in D.C. we had our hottest single day in four years, and several consecutive days where the humidity tipped the perceived temperature into triple digits.
We did the best we could to stay cool: We hit the movies, we went to the pool, we stayed in with the A/C cranked up high.
And we didn't dare turn on the stove.
Which is why we were eager to try out this No-Cook Tomato Sauce.
This no-cook sauce from Food Network Magazine is actually one of two almost-raw tomato sauce recipes in July food magazines: Bon Appétit featured a Grated Tomato Sauce that calls for only 5-10 minutes of cooking. And no-cook tomato sauces have been a summer staple of the food magazine summer issues for years.
Grating is the key, here: It gives you a nice smooth sauce-y texture without having to cook the tomatoes down. We like the Food Network twist of mixing in some chopped heirloom tomatoes along with the grated ones. The gives the sauce a nice heft and keeps it from being too watery.
We served ours over thin strips of zucchini, which we've been eating a lot as a healthy alternative to pasta. The other advantage of zucchini: You literally don't even have to boil water to make this recipe. Just strip the zucchini or yellow squash (we've already told you how much we love our julienne peeler) and then serve with the sauce.
The sauce itself is delicious! The zesty garlic, the fresh basil, the height-of-season tomatoes -- it's seriously like eating a bite of pure summer.
One thought: If you do want to eat it over zucchini like we did, you may find the sauce a bit watery. It's probably perfect over pasta, which would absorb some of the liquid. But if you do want to have this over zucchini, you might want to drain off a little of the liquid from the sauce first.
In general, though, this sauce is great. And prepping an entire dinner without even turning on the stove? Even better.
What about you? Any good no-cook summer recipes you love? Let us know!
Rigatoni with No-Cook Tomato Sauce
Food Network Magazine (July 2016)
Subscribe to Food Network Magazine
(This photo: Ryan Dausch, Food Network Magazine)
Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 10 mins
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
Kosher salt
12 ounces rigatoni pasta
1 pound beefsteak tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, grated
2 medium heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 cup torn fresh basil
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Meanwhile, grate the beefsteak tomatoes into a large bowl, discarding any remaining skin. Whisk in the olive oil, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the heirloom tomatoes, basil and the pasta; toss to combine.
