This jammy tomato-pepper sauce is sweet, spicy, and served over linguine. Paired with crispy squash blossoms, this meal is heavenly.
This recipe makes the most of the summer bounty with heirloom tomatoes, red bell peppers, and squash blossoms.
The secret ingredient in this recipe is chili oil. We soak the tomatoes and red bell peppers in plenty of chili oil and a lot of salt. The salt draws out the liquid in the tomatoes and that liquid infuses with the chili oil for a no-brainer sauce that comes together super fast.
How to Make this Jammy Tomato-Pepper Sauce:
This tomato-pepper sauce recipe is easy to make but does require a few pots and pans. If that doesn’t intimidate you, then read on! You will be rewarded with an amazingly flavorful dinner.
First, prepare your tomatoes. Roughly chop two pounds of ripe tomatoes and two bell peppers. Toss with chili oil and salt and set aside. Let them marinate for 15-20 minutes.
While the tomatoes and peppers marinate, prepare your batter and refrigerate it until you need it. This recipe uses a thin tempura style better (similar to our squash blossom tacos) but it is thinned out a bit since it is served with pasta.
From there, it’s just a matter of sauteeing a shallot, adding the tomato mixture, and letting everything simmer for about 30-45 minutes until thick and jammy.
While the sauce simmers, batter the squash blossoms and fry them in oil. Transfer the crispy squash blossoms to a paper towel-lined plate. Finish the sauce by adding a little hot honey, pasta cooking water, and cooked pasta and toss to coat and that’s it! It’s not a terribly difficult recipe but does require a little planning to time everything.
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Jammy Tomato-Pepper Sauce
Equipment
- Large pot
- Whisk
Ingredients
Pasta:
- 1 pound ripe tomatoes cored and roughly chopped
- 2 red bell peppers trimmed and seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili oil more or less to taste
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 shallots peeled and sliced into wedges
- 2 teaspoons hot honey
- 16 ounces linguine 1/4 cup pasta water reserved
- 8 ounces burrata divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
Squash blossoms:
- 12 squash blossoms
- 1 cup flour
- 1 ½ cups cold tonic
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes such as Aleppo pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
Prepare the tomatoes:
- Combine the chopped tomatoes and red bell peppers in a bowl. Drizzle with the chili oil and add 3/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Prepare the batter:
- As the tomatoes marinate, prepare the batter. Combine the flour, cold tonic, salt, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
Cook the sauce:
- Heat the avocado oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 5-6 minutes until they begin to soften.
Simmer the tomatoes:
- Pour in the chili oil tomatoes and bring to a boil. Taste and add a touch more salt and pepper if needed. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes until reduced and very thick. Add more water as necessary if the liquid evaporates too quickly or if the sauce sticks.
Cook the pasta:
- During the last 20 minutes of the sauce simmering, cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the linguine. Cook until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water before draining the pasta and setting it aside. (Note: Try to time this so that you are draining the pasta as soon as the squash blossoms finish frying).
Fry the squash blossoms:
- As the pasta cooks, prepare the squash blossoms. Heat 1.5’’ vegetable oil in a large pot to 350ºF. Dip the squash blossoms in the batter, one by one (don’t try to batter them all at once) and then drop them into the hot oil. Fry the blossoms in batches for 2 minutes per side until crispy and golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
Finish the pasta:
- Taste the sauce and add more salt, if needed. Add the hot honey and the reserved pasta cooking water and stir to combine. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat for 1 minute. Turn off the heat.
To serve:
- Divide the cooked pasta between plates and arrange the squash blossoms on top. Cut the burrata into four portions and place a portion on each dish. Drizzle with more hot honey.
