I first spied this tomato sauce recipe, with its unexpected combination of dried spices and fresh herbs, in Bon Appetit last summer. I cut the recipe out of the magazine and pinned it to the bulletin board above the kitchen sink. It’s been there since—I could not wait to make this warm and spicy sauce recipe again this summer.
Good thing my Sun Sugar tomatoes are prolific right now: I love their sunny sweetness, and they’re so abundant that I’ve made several batches of this sauce already. (Tip for tomato gardeners: If you find split or blemished tomatoes, don’t compost them; stash them in a freezer bag and make sauce when the bag is full.)
Get yourself a quart of cherry tomatoes, some star anise and cloves, some fresh herbs. Make this sauce. In quantity. Store it in the freezer. Do it now, while sweet yellow cherry tomatoes are abundant.
spiced yellow cherry tomato pasta sauce recipe
(serves 4)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 sprigs basil
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig tarragon
1 star anise
1 whole clove
2 pints Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, halved (about 4 cups)
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 servings dried spaghetti (about 8 oz.)
In a medium skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat; add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it softens (lower the heat if needed; you don't want the onion to get brown and crispy). Add the garlic, herb sprigs and spices; cook and stir until you smell the richness of the herbs and spices, about 2 minutes. Add the Sun Gold tomatoes and vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and become saucy, about 10 minutes. Remove the herb sprigs, clove and star anise and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions, use tongs to transfer it to the skillet with the sauce, adding a bit of pasta cooking water to thin the sauce if needed. Cook the spaghetti and sauce together for a minute or two, stirring to coat the pasta well and infuse it with the flavor of the sauce.
