Meatless Monday - Fresh Heirloom Tomato Spaghetti

Delicious, beautiful tomatoes are everywhere right now.
It is their time!
Which really means its our time - to enjoy them as much as possible.
I absolutely love tomatoes - a couple cherry tomatoes as a snack is better than any candy I've ever had and seeing the glorious colours of the heirlooms makes me want to slice them up, add a dash of sea salt and dig in!
Aside from being delicious, tomatoes are an extremely healthy food - full of vitamin C, vitamin A, biotin for your skin, hair and nails and cancer fighting lycopene.
So I thought what better way to use some of these tasty tomatoes than some fresh spaghetti sauce. This recipe is absolutely delicious and the better the tomatoes, the better the flavour.

Fresh Heirloom Tomato Spaghetti

Serves 4
Ingredients
6 heirloom tomatoes (preferably different colours), cores removed
2 Tbsp olive oil divided
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
30 cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 lb quinoa or brown rice spaghetti
1 tsp oregano
10 fresh basil leaves, torn
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions
Place the 6 heirloom tomatoes (with cores removed) into a blender with sea salt and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Puree until they become a liquid.

Sauté the chopped onion, garlic, and 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté or sauce pan on medium low heat for about 10 minutes until onions are soft. (Make sure to use a fairly large pan or pot as we will be adding the sauce and the pasta in the same pan.)

While the onions are cooking, place the halved cherry tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and mix well with a few good sprinkles of sea salt. Set aside.

Pour the heirloom tomato mixture into the pan with the onions and add oregano and salt and pepper.  Cook on medium - low heat for about 30 minutes - the sauce will begin to thicken slightly.

Boil water for the pasta and cook it until it is just al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta. Add the pasta and the 1/4 cup of pasta water to the sauté pan with the tomato sauce. Add the salted cherry tomatoes and the torn basil leaves. Slowly stir well to coat the pasta with the sauce and continue to cook on medium -  low heat for 15 minutes. Reduce to a simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until the sauce has reached your desired consistency.

Sending you sunshine, happiness and heirloom tomato love,
Kim

Love this Meatless Monday recipe? 

Want vegan recipes delivered to your inbox? 

Sign up here for the weekly Picky Diet Newsletter