I made my dinner of polenta with creamy tomato sauce. I can’t believe how delicious it turned out! The best part is, there was enough sauce leftover, we’re having it for dinner tonight, too.
I’m re-posting what I put on Facebook here so everyone can have the recipe:
There are tons of local tomatoes right now. Heaven & Earth, Four Frog, Pyramid, and Moonstone Farms are all supplying the Patch with beautiful tomatoes. This kind of a surplus inspires an easy-to-make dinner of broiled polenta with a creamy tomato sauce. Local polenta is available at the farmer’s markets, but if you’re in a pinch, BriarPatch carries ready-made polenta in a variety of flavors for $3.45.
Simple Rustic Creamy Tomato Sauce
Serves 4-6
Yield: Approximately 3 cups
2 pounds local, slicing tomatoes
2 California jalapeños
2 tablespoons Apollo olive oil
1 local torpedo onion, diced
3 cloves local garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup créme fraiche
Preheat broiler. Set rack about 5 to 6 inches from heat. Cut tomatoes and jalapenos in half. Place them on a baking pan. Broil on both sides until tomatoes are lightly charred and skins are wrinkled and peeling off, approximately 5 to 7 minutes per side. Use tongs to rotate. Jalapenos will blacken and brown as well, and shrink down.
Let cool, then peel and coarsely chop tomatoes, saving juice. Remove seeds and stem, and coarsely chop the jalapenos and set aside with tomatoes.
While tomatoes and jalapenos are cooling, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon oil in a sauce pan or cast iron skillet until very soft and lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for another minute Add onion-garlic mixture to tomato-jalapeno mixture along with salt, and puree well in blender.
In same pan, heat 1 more tablespoon oil to very hot. Add puree to pan (it should sizzle and bubble) and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir continuously. Warning: it may splatter as well. Stir in stock and return to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered or until sauce begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and stir in crème fraiche. Season additionally with salt if necessary. 
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