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Fresh Tomato-Herb Sauce

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on September 12, 2011

Time

10 minutes

Yield

Serves 3 (Makes 2 cups)

Fresh Tomato-Herb Sauce

Ingredients

2 medium tomatoes cut into a medium dice (peeling and seeding optional)3 tablespoons minced fresh herb such as basil, or parsley, cilantro, mint, oregano, or tarragon1 teaspoon minced garlic ¼ cup virgin olive oil

Before You Begin

Serve this sauce over pasta, toasted bread, grilled fish or chicken, or salad greens. To vary or enhance flavor, add any one of the following to this basic recipe: 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions or scallions; 1/4 cup chopped cured black olives; 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste, in a medium bowl. The mixture can be set aside at room temperature for a couple of hours, but should not be refrigerated or it will lose flavor.
Fresh Tomato-Herb Sauce

Fresh Tomato-Herb Sauce

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

10 minutes

Yield

Serves 3 (Makes 2 cups)

Ingredients

2 medium tomatoes cut into a medium dice (peeling and seeding optional)
3 tablespoons minced fresh herb such as basil, or parsley, cilantro, mint, oregano, or tarragon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup virgin olive oil

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 medium tomatoes cut into a medium dice (peeling and seeding optional)
3 tablespoons minced fresh herb such as basil, or parsley, cilantro, mint, oregano, or tarragon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup virgin olive oil

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 medium tomatoes cut into a medium dice (peeling and seeding optional)
3 tablespoons minced fresh herb such as basil, or parsley, cilantro, mint, oregano, or tarragon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup virgin olive oil

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

For the best raw tomato and salsa recipes we discovered that peeling tomatoes for raw sauces is optional and that seeding causes them to lose much of their juice. For uncooked sauce recipes—especially for pasta—we wanted as much juice as possible so we made seeding an optional step. We found that salting, which some cooks like to do to intensify the tomato flavor and to draw out their juices, only made the tomatoes saltier. We also found that when our tomatoes were less than perfect, a pinch of sugar sprinkled on after dicing boosted their flavor significantly.

Before You Begin

Serve this sauce over pasta, toasted bread, grilled fish or chicken, or salad greens. To vary or enhance flavor, add any one of the following to this basic recipe: 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions or scallions; 1/4 cup chopped cured black olives; 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste, in a medium bowl. The mixture can be set aside at room temperature for a couple of hours, but should not be refrigerated or it will lose flavor.

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