How to Use Wrinkled Tomatoes to Make Pasta Sauce
When you have some wrinkled tomatoes at home don’t throw them away. You can roast them along with some garlic and a bell pepper and prepare the most delicious homemade pasta sauce. For this recipe you are also going to need a food processor or a blender.
I usually make an effort to plan my meals ahead so I can reduce any food waste, but I’m not perfect. Unfortunately, sometimes I end up with a pint of cherry tomatoes that lost some of their water content and become wrinkled.
Is it safe to eat wrinkled tomatoes?
Yes, they are perfectly safe to consume as long as they are not moldy. If there is a mold on your tomatoes throw them away.
Why should we prevent food waste?
Do you know that 40% of the food that is produced and processed in the United States ends up in a landfill? Shocking, right?
You may think that big producers and restaurants waste the most food, but this is not true. Actually, normal people like you and me are the biggest contributors to food waste.
Wasting food is bad for the economy and really bad for the environment.
With the increasing food prices, we can’t afford to throw away our money. We have to shop smarter and plan ahead.
Helpful tips
I roasted the vegetables in a toaster oven, and it took about 10 minutes. Roasting time can be different depending on the size of the vegetables and the type of oven. You can tell when they are ready by trying to peel some of them. If they are done the peel would be easy to remove.
Cool off the vegetables before peeling them. I don’t like to have any peels and seeds in my pasta sauce, but if you don’t mind you can keep them.
Save some pasta water for the sauce. The pasta water is essential for a good creamy sauce.
For this recipe used whole wheat pasta shells. You can use whatever pasta you prefer. Just make sure that you follow the cooking directions on the packet.
How to Use Wrinkled Tomatoes to Make Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes wrinkled or not
- 1 red bell pepper or other sweet pepper
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 cup grated parmesan plus more for serving
- ½ cup pasta water or more if needed
- fresh basil and parsley a handful or to taste
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 oz dry pasta I used whole wheat shells
Instructions
To cook the pasta
- Add water in a deep pot and bring to boil. Add a pinch of salt to the water and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. When the pasta is cooked save about half a cup from the pasta water.
To prepare the sauce
- Preheat an oven to 380F. On a baking sheet add the cherry tomatoes, two garlic cloves and one red pepper. Roast them for 10-15 minutes.
- Allow the tomatoes and pepper to cool down and peel them. Remove the seeds and the stem from the pepper.
- Add the roasted vegetables in a food processor with ½ cup of pasta water, parsley, basil, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.
- Add the sauce in a pan and heat it to medium high. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir until combined.
- Serve right away with extra grated Parmesan.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Other recipes you might like with pasta
Greek Pasta Salad with Pantry Ingredients and Tahini Dressing