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After taking third and fourth helpings of my fresh tomato sauce with fennel and tarragon, last night’s guest said, “This sauce is so good, I just want to drink it like a soup.”
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I was surprised she loved it so much, but then again I wasn’t surprised.
Turning the sauce into a soup by thinning it with extra water would be easy enough to do, and then our guest could get her wish.
This tomato sauce is for you if you love tomatoes, and it’s also for you if you are sensitive to tomatoes.
It’s a balanced tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes that ends up tasting sweet without the addition of added sugars.
The combination of tomatoes, olive oil, fresh fennel bulb, onion, and tarragon obliterates the irritating sour quality of the tomatoes, making it oh-so-balancing overall.
The fennel root brings in sweet. light, and cool qualities to balance the heating and stimulating qualities of the tomatoes.
The lightly browned onion also adds sweetness, as does the tarragon.
I highly recommend using the tarragon in this recipe. It has a mild licorice and vanilla taste that pairs especially well with tomatoes and fennel.
Overall, this is a simple sauce with distinctive flavors that pairs well with pasta, pizza, grains, zucchini fritters, meats, etc. Anything you would typically have a tomato or marinara sauce with, this would work.
How to make
Prepare the tomatoes: The first step is to prep your fresh tomatoes. To keep things simple, I leave the skins but remove the seeds. You want to slice your tomatoes in half lengthwise and use a finger to scoop out and discard the seeds. After that, blend the fresh tomatoes into a puree, and they are ready to use.
Chop the fennel bulb: Also known as anise, fennel bulb is easy to cook with, Simple slice off the root and the stalks, chop lengthwise into 4 pieces, remove the core, then chop into bite-sized pieces.
Chop the onion: I used red onion, but any onion will do. We’re using a just a small amount of onion to bring on the sweetness and enhance the flavor.
Sauté and simmer: Start your saucepan on medium heat and pour in olive oil. Sauté onions and fennel until lightly brown, then add in the pureed tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes. Add the herbs, simmer another 10 minutes, and it’s done! Be sure to appreciate the glorious reddish-orange vivid color.
Why do we love tomatoes?
Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable in the world, representing 17% of all vegetables produced.
Everyone seems to love tomatoes, but there’s a catch sometimes isn’t there?
it’s that tomatoes can have an irritating effect on digestion for some people.
This is due to the tomato’s acidity and their tomatine and solanine content, which Joyful Belly refers to as “funky chemicals that ultimately irritate the body, especially the joints.”
So while come people can’t handle tomatoes at all, others crave that irritation, because it creates a kind of stimulation, heat, excitement—even passion—in the body.
It’s crazy that we might crave irritation, but now you know why.
It’s the same reason people crave chili peppers.
If that weren’t enough, tomatoes also have that classic sweet and sour taste that most people love.
And there’s more!
The umami secret
According to Western taste experts, tomatoes are high in “umami,” which is another word for savory taste. Grilled meats are high in umami as well.
This sought-after taste comes from glutamic acid. It’s one of the most abundant amino acids found in nature, and tomatoes are full of it.
Ketchup is super high in glutamic acid, for example.
At the same time, cooking, drying, aging, and/or concentrating tomatoes increases these desirable qualities.
When you make this tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes, you’ll remove the seeds and juice first, then blend up the tomato pulp and cook it down into a concentrated sauce.
If this umami stuff is interesting to you, I have a huge post on the topic that is super informative.
Freshly picked
My personal philosophy is to enjoy tomatoes occasionally, except when the garden’s bursting with them.
In this case, it’s typically a few weeks of “anything goes,” along with making this tomato fennel sauce at least a couple times.
What I’m saying is that there’s really no substitute for freshly picked organic tomatoes, and I highly recommend using fresh tomatoes for this sauce.
Late summer medicine?
There’s actually an important benefit to enjoying tomatoes when they’re ripe in late summer.
The sour taste moistens the palate, and supports digestion in the late summer months when cooler temperature generate internal dryness.
Tomatoes are also very high in vitamin A, which, according to Chinese Medicine, clears liver heat and supports summer detox.
You may have also heard that tomatoes are widely recognized for their potent antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic effects.
This is due to the presence of lycopene, and vitamins C and E.
Ayurvedic perspective on tomatoes
While there are tangible benefits to enjoying tomatoes, from the Ayurvedic perspective, tomatoes are considered heating and acidic.
As such, they are not recommended for most Pitta types, as well as Vata types.
Pitta is the Ayurvedic body type associated with fire, heat, and the liver. Not surprisingly, Pitta tends to run especially high in the summer months.
As a general rule, tomatoes are always best for Kapha dosha, because of their warming and stimulating qualities. Kapha’s can usually use a little energy boost.
That said, I never like to say “never” to anyone, because there’s usually a way to use Ayurvedic knowledge to make a favorite food work for you.
So, if you are experiencing dryness in late summer, yet you’re Pitta or Vata and tomatoes aren’t recommended, try tomatoes once and see how you feel.
My tomato and fennel pasta sauce is naturally sweet, and far more balancing than a typical tomato sauce.
Notice how you feel after eating the sauce.
Noticing how you feel after eating is a hallmark of Ayurveda, which is the traditional system of medicine from India that I practice.
If you’d like to learn your Ayurvedic body type, take my 5-minute quiz to find out.
Pair with
Enjoy tomato fennel sauce with my Easy Zucchini Fritters or with Turmeric Cauliflower.
Substitute the quick tomato sauce in this recipe for Zucchini Noodles with tomato fennel sauce.
Replace the 2 cups tomatoes in this Mediterranean Squash Bake recipe with the tomato sauce made with fennel root. Super yum!
Cooked grain, Simple Swiss Chard or braised kale, together with your tomato fennel sauce will make a lovely combination. Add a little feta cheese, or your cheese of choice to add another flavor dimension.
More fennel recipes
Reheating and storage
This is a go-to recipe for using up fresh tomatoes from the garden. I’ll make a double batch then freeze portions for later use. I’d keep this sauce up to 6 months.
If you put it in the fridge, give it 5 days. A tomato sauce is a little more forgiving for storage because of its high acid content.
To reheat, bring to a gentle boil for 1 minute. Add a little salt, pepper or fresh herbs to make it extra vibrant.
Tomato Fennel Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- medium saucepan
Ingredients
to start
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fennel bulb chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
the rest
- 3 cups fresh tomatoes blended (sub with 28-ounce can crushed)
- 2 stalks green onion chopped (sub with chives)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (sub with 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme) (sub with 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon (sub with 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon)
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
to prepare
- If using fresh tomatoes, cut off the stems, then cut each one in half horizontally. Use your fingers to remove and discard the seeds and juices, then chop roughly tomatoes and transfer to a blender. Blend until chunky or smooth; your choice. Set aside until needed.
- Chop onions and fennel bulb.
to make the sauce
- Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Add onion, fennel bulb, and salt. Sauté, stirring every 1-2 minutes, until just starting to brown, then stir in the tomatoes.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, partially covered, to prevent the tomatoes from splattering.
- Stir in the chopped thyme, tarragon, and black pepper, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Add extra water if it gets too thick, and cook longer if it is too thin. (Water content will vary greatly, depending on fresh or canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are more concentrated, while fresh tomatoes are more watery.)