The Tomato Toss

You know how you have those days where you get home after a long day and you don’t want to trouble yourself with dinner? Well, today was one of those days. I already had to suffer through a very uninspired lunch and when I opened up my fridge this evening, I was greeted with the same scarce-looking shelves that had stared back at me the day before while I was prepping lunch.



Luckily, I still had some tomatoes still sitting around. Unlikely for me, if I didn’t use them soon (and I mean, soon), they were going to be tossed…out. So with the ones that were still salvageable, I threw together a quick sauce, which honestly, I love to do. It’s not only a great way to use up ingredients in your fridge, but you can have fun with spur-of-the-moment cooking. Best of all, it’s fast and on the table in minutes!

While the pasta is cooking, sauté diced tomatoes (seeds removed) with some minced garlic and olive oil, then add a splash of red wine and let it simmer down for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to break down and the skin softens. Sometimes I’ll add one or two anchovies and/or chilli flakes with the garlic to give some more flavour. Drain pasta when cooked through to your likeness. Add a splash of heavy cream to the sauce if you like, then toss the pasta until well coated. You can also toss other stuff like leftover roasted chicken, shrimp that you sautéed beforehand, sliced sausage, baby spinach...whatever floats your fancy. Toss in some of your favourite herbs and serve.



The combinations are really endless, and that’s what’s fun about this simple tomato/garlic/olive oil base. You can do just about anything with it, and you’re bound to have a pasta dish that’ll taste different each time, but just as delicious!