I love the Farmer’s Market because it is just a beautiful place to be. I’ve heard people mention that they don’t like when they cannot bring a shopping list and get everything they want, but that is part of what I love about it. It gives you the opportunity to be creative and find the freshest produce for your meals that week. Last weekend, we stopped by a stand that offered the prettiest heirloom tomatoes and all of her fruit looked amazing. I picked out a few varieties of the heirloom tomatoes (even though I wanted them all) and then chose from her perfect peaches and raspberries. The kind lady threw in some extra tomatoes for free, excitedly wanting us to try a few more varieties and I went home with the biggest smile on my face.

When I had them all washed and looked at my colorful bounty, I was suddenly concerned that I needed to eat every last one of them before they spoiled. I also wanted to make sure that when they were eaten, they were the star of the show. What a produce nerd I am! My husband looked to me for direction and I remembered a recipe for a no-cook pasta sauce that Matt Armendariz posted last summer that I had wanted to make since I first laid eyes on it. Until I purchased these tomatoes, I felt like I hadn’t had any tomatoes worthy of this no-cook pasta sauce. Now I was wondering if this great looking recipe was worthy of my tomatoes. The mental anguish I put myself through, yeesh. I am happy to report that the recipe and the tomatoes were everything I had hoped they would be. We even had a little taste test to try the different varieties. My favorites in appearance and taste were the green zebra tomatoes, but I adored them all. I highly recommend trying this fantastic recipe that is bright and fresh and will help you hold onto summer just a bit longer.

Recipe: Pasta with Fresh Heirloom Tomato Sauce

Serves 4-6, depending on it being a side or a main dish

Recipe adapted from Mattbites

1 garlic clove

3 lbs. ripe heirloom tomatoes

2 T. fresh lemon juice

pinch of sea salt (or kosher salt) and extra to taste

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

1 lb. dried capellini or angel hair pasta

1/2 C. chopped fresh basil

extra virgin olive oil for dressing

1. Mince the garlic,  add a pinch of salt to the garlic and using your knife continue to chop and mash the garlic into a paste.

2. Roughly chop 2/3 of the tomatoes and set aside in a large serving bowl. Cut the remaining tomatoes in half crosswise and then rub the cut side against the large holes of the box grater. Grate into a large bowl and discard the skin. Using a slotted spoon, strain the tomato pulp from the watery juice and add to the chopped tomatoes in the large serving bowl along with the garlic paste, lemon juice and fresh pepper. Get as much of the pulp out because it holds lots of tomato flavor. You can use the leftover juice to make a fantastic Bloody Mary, score! Let the tomato mixture stand until ready to use, at least 10 minutes.

3. While the tomato sauce is standing, cook your pasta in salted, boiling water uncovered until al dente. Drain pasta and immediately add it to your large serving bowl with the tomato mixture. Toss well to combine and sprinkle with the basil. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt before serving. The oil and salt is a nice touch and you can alternately dish out the pasta in individual bowls and top each bowl with the oil and salt.