This beautifully orange pasta sauce will have you holding onto summer for just a little longer. And I don't know about you, but I for one don't want summer to end so soon. The produce at the end of the summer may just be my absolute favourite because tomatoes are just SO GOOD right now. And if you come across some of these beautiful orange sungold tomatoes, please, please, pick some up. And then make this sungold tomato pasta sauce. This pasta with sungold tomatoes is made using burst sungold tomatoes, sautéed shallots, garlic and saffron. The bright orange/yellow hue is stunning and of course, absolutely delicious.

All About Sungold Tomatoes

If you're unfamiliar with using sungold tomatoes, here is a little more info about them.

I would encourage you to use sungold tomatoes for this recipe because of the beautiful colour of the sauce (and the taste of sungolds), but if you can't find them, this can be made with regular cherry tomatoes.

• They're one of the most popular varieties of cherry tomatoes.
• They taste sweeter and stay firmer longer than regular cherry tomatoes.
• Bright tangerine-orange colour.
• A firmer skin than regular cherry tomatoes, but they break down easily once simmered or cooked.

Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need for this sungold tomato recipe.

• saffron threads: saffron not only adds a beautiful colour to the sauce, it also adds a hint of flavour as well. Saffron has a truly unique flavour profile that can't be duplicated. I would encourage you to add some to make this recipe really stand out.
• extra virgin olive oil
• shallots
• garlic cloves
• Aleppo pepper flakes
• Sungold cherry tomatoes
• bucatini
• unsalted butter
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• fresh basil
• sumac
• finishing extra virgin olive oil (optional, for garnish)

How to Make This Sungold Tomato Pasta

Besides the taste, another reason I think you'll love this blistered cherry tomato pasta recipe is how easy it is to make.

All it takes is a little time sautéing the shallots, garlic and tomatoes. Doing this releases so much more flavour and leads to a richer and more flavourful pasta sauce.

Here's how to make it.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and remove 1/4 cup and pour into a bowl. Add the saffron and set aside. Keep the water simmering with a lid to cook the pasta later and season the water with salt.

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and just starting to brown on the edges slightly, about eight to ten minutes.

Add the garlic and Aleppo pepper and stir to incorporate. Sauté until fragrant, about one to two minutes.

Add the tomatoes and reserved saffron and water.

Increase the heat to medium and simmer until the tomatoes have started to burst, about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the large pot of water just short of package directions. Drain and set aside.

Transfer about 3/4 of the tomato mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.

Reduce the heat to low and pour the sauce back into the skillet with the remaining tomatoes and add the pasta along with the butter.

Use tongs to toss everything together until the sauce has turned glossy and the pasta has cooked a bit more. Add in the parmesan and toss again.

Divide the pasta onto plates and top with extra parmesan, basil, a sprinkle of sumac and finishing oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Tips

• Don't skip the butter: the butter is added at the end of cooking to add depth, richness, flavour and emulsify the saffron sauce. Restaurants do this all the time when making pan sauces, or pasta sauces for a reason. It will make the sungold tomato pasta sauce super glossy, creamy and delicious.
• Take time to sauté: by taking about ten minutes to slowly cook the shallots and garlic you are imparting a lot of flavour in the sauce that will otherwise be missed. When doing this, be sure to keep the heat to medium-low so you don't burn the shallots or garlic.
• Fresh basil: adding fresh herbs like basil at the end keeps this sungold tomato sauce light and fresh. Plus, tomatoes and basil simply belong together.
• Soak the saffron: in order to extract the flavour and benefits from saffron, it's important to let it soak in some water beforehand and add it to a dish early on to release the flavours. A little goes a long way, so although it's on the pricy side, you don't need much for a recipe.

Substitutions

• Gluten-free: use another type of gluten-free pasta such as spaghetti or linguine.
• Shallots: if you don't have, feel free to use 1/2 medium yellow onion instead.
• Aleppo pepper: although I love Aleppo pepper and use it very often, if you don't have it, substitute with chili flakes. The flavour is a little different, but it will work similarly.
• Sumac: sumac adds a bright flavour to this sungold tomato pasta, but you can omit if you don't have it.

Ingredients & Products I Recommend:

Kosher salt:

I exclusively use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for all of my recipes. I prefer the texture, taste and consistency of this brand and highly recommend it for everyday cooking.

Finishing oil:

I've recently purchased this finishing oil from Graza and I'm absolutely obsessed with it. This oil is meant to be used to finish a dish after cooking, it has a stronger, spicier taste than regular olive oil. The quality of this product is also top notch. And I love the squeeze bottle design which makes it easy to drizzle.

More Pasta Recipes to Try:

I really, really love noodles and pasta, so be sure to check out these other fun recipes!

• Ravioli with Creamy Spinach Pesto Sauce
• Air Fryer Gnocchi with Burst Tomato Sauce
• Harissa Pasta with Burrata
• Pan Fried Gnocchi with Sage & Brown Butter
• Easy Miso Carbonara
• Chili Crisp Noodles
• Pasta with Burrata and Sausage
• Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Crunchy Celery
• Healthy Pad Thai
• Chicken Noodle Salad with Thai Bang-Bang Sauce

Are you ready to make this? Let's get to it!

As always, if you make this sungold tomato pasta please share with me, by tagging me on Instagram or leave a comment and/or review below. I truly love seeing and hearing form you!

This recipe was inspired by the always inspiring, Wishbone Kitchen.

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