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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Left-Over Wednesdays: Napa Valley Tomato Sauce

Napa Valley Tomato Sauce

This is a pasta sauce I invented a couple years ago to use some red wine vinegar that I bought on a trip to Napa Valley, California. I had used some of the vinegar for salad, but wanted a use that was a little more special. I serve it over angel hair pasta because the sauce is fairly light in weight. (Heavier, chunkier, meaty sauces call for bigger, thicker pastas) We usually grill or bake chicken breasts to serve with this dish as well. Almost every time we cook this, something about it gets tweaked, so feel free to experiment, and don't feel like you have to follow this to the letter! Hope you enjoy!

4-5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup high-quality vinegar: red wine, balsamic or raspberry-balsamic varieties
Feta cheese, crumbled
Fresh basil, julienned


1. Saute the shallot and garlic in olive oil until shallots are translucent. Be careful not to let them brown.
2. Add tomatoes, and saute for a couple minutes, salt and pepper mixture.
3. Add the vinegar, stir well and cover to let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Sauce needs to simmer to reduce by at least 1/4 to 1/2.
4. When you are ready to serve, stir in feta cheese and fresh basil.
5. Serve over angel hair pasta with chicken.

*Note: Try to use the highest quality vinegar you can afford, since that is the main body of the sauce. I prefer this recipe with balsamic. Gives the sauce a tangy, rich quality. If you choose to use raspberry-balsamic vinegar, the sauce will be sweeter. Experiment for yourself and have fun!

2 comments:

Greta said...

Mmm that looks and sounds delicious.

christiejones said...

I will be trying it!!