Tricolored Pasta with Simple Raw Tomato Sauce

Summer's finest zucchini and tomatoes become the centerpiece of an elegant and simple meal.  Ripe, home grown tomatoes make a wonderful marinara simply by letting the flavors meld at room temperature with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley and a cold-pressed olive oil.  As for the pasta, here's another SimplyCooking® recipe using a julienne peeler to turn zucchini and carrots into pasta.  The julienne peeler, with swift, long strokes, makes spaghetti-like shreds.  I like the Kinpira peeler; it is sharp, sturdy and slips right in the knife drawer - way more sleek than the  traditional box peeler.  

My mother dropped off four home grown tomatoes yesterday afternoon. It was a hectic Monday, just getting back into the swing of things after a few weeks of travel.  The pantry was bare and yet,  here's what we sat down to a few hours later.  

tricolored pasta with simple raw tomato sauce

2 lbs. ripe tomatoes {4 medium}

1/2 cup olive oil

1 handful fresh parsley, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, Celtic Sea Salt preferred

Coarsely ground black pepper

1 lb. spaghetti

2 zucchini

2 carrots, peeled

Parmesan Cheese, grated, to taste

Core and chop the tomatoes and place the them along with the juices in a glass or ceramic bowl.  Mince the parsley quite fine {not the stems, save those for another use.} Combine the minced parsley and garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper with the tomatoes.  Cover the bowl with a ceramic or glass plate and set on the counter for one to three hours.   

Cook the spaghetti until al dente, tender to the tooth.  Drain and empty to a serving bowl.  Julienne slice the zucchini and peeled carrots and add to the spaghetti.  

For a chunky sauce, use as is.  Or, with an immersion blender {a regular blender is more work} puree the sauce to the desired consistency.  Serve at room temperature over the pasta, or gently warm the sauce before serving.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.