Spaghettini with Tomatoes, Basil, Olive Oil and Garlic
This is a quick and easy summery sauce, one I can eat often without tiring of it, and ideal when fresh, ripe tomatoes are abundant. The red pepper flakes, if you choose to use them, are not intended to make the sauce spicy but simply to give it a little liveliness, so be gentle with the pinch. While the amount of garlic may seem overgenerous, it is less pungent when sliced and stewed than when chopped and browned. You get a sweeter flavor from fresh tomatos than from canned.
Ingredients:
- 2 lb dried, store-bought pasta
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbs thinly sliced garlic
- 2 lbs fresh ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced lengthwise, or 3 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice, coarsely chopped
- Salt
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn by hand into 1/2 in pieces
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Preparation:
Put all but 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and all the garlic in a large skillet over a medium-high heat and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add the tomatoes as soon as the garlic begins to change color. If using fresh tomatoes, you’ll notice they give off a fair amount of liquid. When the liquid begins to reduce, season with salt. If using canned tomatoes, season with salt at the beginning. Continue cooking over a medium-high heat until the tomatoes have reduced and separated from the oil: 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the skillet.
While the sauce is cooking, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan or pot. When the sauce has reduced, add the torn basil leaves and the optional pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the boiling wter in the saucepan. Drop in the pasta, stirring until the strands are submerged. When cooked “al dente”, drain and toss with the sauce in the skillet, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste for salt and serve at once.
From: Giuliano Hazan
The Classic Pasta Cookbook
1993, London and New York, Dorling Kindersley
Used with permission