Fast Pasta with Slow-roasted Tomatoes

Pasta sauce sourced locally from ingredients put up in summertime to be enjoyed during wintertime: slow-roasted tomatoes seasoned with hot turkey sausage served over ricotta-feta tossed fettuccine.

Permission and Encouragement in today's post.

Did you put up a bit of summer's bounty in your freezer or pantry last year? Perhaps you dabbled a bit in freezing some strawberry jam, pesto, or tomatoes? If so--have you started to use what you put up? If yes--I should have made a flow chart--good for you. If no--what are you waiting for? Now is the time! It's cold enough to crave hearty homey hot dishes but the lengthening days tease you with the promise of seasons to come.

If you didn't put up any of the bounty from your garden, your neighbor's garden, your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share or farmer's market--no worries! Let this recipe plant itself like a parasite in the back of your brain so that, when the days become shorter and the tomato plants are laden with ripe tomatoes, you'll think about trying your hand at putting some up. Then, through the magic of Pinterest (link to my Pinterest page where my first board, Farm Fresh Feasts, is all the posts I've ever posted on the blog) you can find this recipe next winter and enjoy your own homegrown tomatoes. In the meantime, a can of good crushed tomatoes will do.

About a year ago I shared a recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup with Home-canned Tomatoes. It was one of my most popular recipes of 2014. In that posted I planted the seed about canning your own tomatoes. It worked in at least 2 folks that I know of, and I couldn't be more delighted. Your turn?

Today I'm going to share a recipe for pasta with a slow-roasted tomato sauce, and I'll nag you to roast some tomatoes in the Fall. Oh, I mean plant the seed [forget the parasite analogy now] that you should consider slow-roasted as a method of preservation. Slow-roasted tomatoes require an oven, a rimmed baking sheet, and a freezer. I am fortunate to have all 3, and according to the results of the Hunger Study 2014, most folks in my area have access to the same kitchen appliances. No excuses!

Consider slow-roasting some tomatoes this year. Head to Alanna's excellent tutorial for step-by-step info and photos. For other ideas on how to use slow-roasted or fresh or canned tomatoes, please see my Tomato Recipes Collection, part of my Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I pin interesting tomato recipes to my Tomatoes Pinterest Board.


The only hassle I have with slow-roasted tomatoes is remembering to thaw them, but if you can set a bag/jar on a plate in the fridge the night before--you're in business. Because you've done the work in putting up a flavorful ingredient when it was at peak season, you can quickly get a hearty meal on the table.

missing--salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, dried minced onion

Fast Pasta with Slow-roasted Tomatoes

3 links (about 10 ounces) hot turkey Italian sausage, chopped
1 quart slow roasted tomatoes (link to Alanna's method)
½ teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh)
2 teaspoon dried minced onion (or 2 Tablespoons fresh)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning herb blend (I used pasta sprinkle)
a couple of grinds of pepper for the sauce plus a couple for the cheese
a couple of pinches of salt
1 piece Parmesan rind
1 pound dried fettuccine, cooked according to package directions
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
¾ cup ricotta cheese

Get the pasta water going unless you've got one of those instant hot water gizmos. [If so, can I come cook in your kitchen?] In a large (3 quart) saucepan over medium heat, sauté the sausage chunks until browned, about 5 minutes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon into smaller bites if you desire. Add the tomatoes, spices, and Parm rind then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes. [Meanwhile, cook the pasta.] In a small bowl combine feta and ricotta cheese with a couple grinds of pepper. Toss the cooked and drained noodles with the cheese mixture until evenly distributed--I did this in the cooking pot.  Serve the cheesed up noodles topped with the sauce, and whoever is your favorite gets the Parm rind. My spouse usually gets mine. ;)

This post is shared on What's Cookin' Wednesday.