Pasta Pomodoro
Pasta Al Pomodoro is an incredibly simple dish, but there's a few tips and tricks to bringing out the best in this sauce!
Servings: 4
Calories: 632kcal
Cost: £1.50 / $2
Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
- Large Skillet & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot & Pasta Tongs
- Large Baking Tray
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 1lb / 500g Long-Cut Pasta (here I use linguine, spaghetti also works great)
- 2lb / 1kg good quality Tomatoes, halved (here I use vine-ripened tomatoes - try and get really fresh/ripe tomatoes)
- 1/3 cup / 30g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve
- 1/4 cup / 65g Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
- 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3-4 cloves of Garlic, left in skins
- 1 medium White Onion, finely diced
- 1 small bunch Fresh Basil Leaves (1oz/30g)
- Salt & Pepper, as needed
Instructions
- Place the garlic and tomatoes (flesh side up) on a large baking tray and season with a generous helping of salt & pepper. Drizzle over 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and flip the tomatoes over. Roast in the oven at 390F/200C for 25-30mins, or until the tomatoes begin to wilt and char. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out the garlic from the skins.
- Add pasta to heavily salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
- Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Add the onion and gently fry until soft and golden. Add in the tomato puree/paste and fry it off for 1-2mins (important to sweeten it). Scrape everything into a blender and pour in the tomatoes & garlic (with the juices).
- Add basil then pop the lid on, leave the hole at the top open and pop a clean tea towel over the top. Pulse until smooth.
- Pour the sauce back into the pan over low heat. Season with salt & pepper (season well to bring out the best in this simple sauce) and give it a stir for a couple of minutes to allow the air bubbles to burst. Transfer the pasta straight from the pot into the sauce, using the excess pasta water it brings to emulsify the sauce. Toss the pasta to coat, using a dash more starchy pasta water if needed to bring everything together.
- Sprinkle over parmesan and give it one final toss. Serve individual portions with another sprinkling of parmesan and any leftover basil. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Tomatoes and Oil - Because both of these make up a good portion of the sauce, I recommend investing in some good quality tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. It's a simple sauce so this really will make all the difference!
b) Starchy Pasta Water - Important that your pasta water is heavily seasoned so you don't dilute the flavour of the sauce. Also important to make sure you scoop out the pasta water at the very end so it's nice and starchy. The starch molecules will help emulsify the oil in the sauce.
c) Make Ahead - If you want to make this ahead of time I recommend just making the sauce, then cooking up the pasta just before serving and stirring it through. It tends to dry up if you make the whole thing ahead of time. The sauce will last a good 3-4 days if tightly sealed in the fridge (longer at your discretion).
d) To serve - Because it's quite a light sauce I usually serve this for lunch, but you could add garlic bread (or cheesy garlic bread or pesto garlic bread) and to bulk it out more for a dinner!
e) Calories - Whole thing divided by 4 with no extra parmesan/oil:
Nutrition
Calories: 632kcal | Carbohydrates: 98.25g | Protein: 19.79g | Fat: 18.04g | Saturated Fat: 3.526g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.397g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10.711g | Trans Fat: 0.079g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 874mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10.21g | Vitamin A: 2287IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 4.76mg