Spaghetti con Pomodorini
This is one of the most basic Italian recipes. There are many different ways of making “spaghetti al pomodoro” but this is my favourite one.
Using cherry tomatoes instead of passata makes this simple plate of pasta look more sophisticated.
My mum use to prepare this in the Summer with cherry tomatoes from the garden. We would eat outside and pair it with a big glass of chilled white wine. It can’t be simpler and better than this.
“I feel a lot of pressure because I am half Italian and I am meant to have “Pasta” in my DNA. I have one go to recipe for pasta, but this is totally out of my comfort zone.”
Perfectly understandable but you’ll see it’s less difficult than you might think. It’s also important to break down the recipe to simplify it. Most of the Italian pasta recipes (not all of them) can be divided in 4 main steps:
1. Soffritto with garlic or onion (sauté)
2. Add the ingredients of your pasta in the soffritto base and finish the sauce.
3. Cook your pasta
4. Mix the pasta with the sauce and serve
Each recipe is different but it’s important to be able to recognise a pattern. Once you are familiar with it no pasta recipe will ever seem difficult again.
The secret of this recipe is the tomatoes.
They have to be ripe, sweet and plump.
Good olive will also make the difference.
Ingredients list & tools
300g of good ripe cherry tomatoes
200g of spaghetti (100g per person)
Olive oil (enough to cover the base of you non stick pan)
2 cloves of garlic
Chilly (fresh, frozen or dried…up to you)
1 tbsp of tomato paste (optional)
Salt and pepper
A pinch of sugar
A few basil leaves
2 handfuls of coarse salt
Tools
Non-stick pan
Pot for the pasta
Colander
Cooking time & People
30min
Serves 2
Step by step
Wash and cut you cherry tomatoes in half
Add olive oil on a non-stick pan. It should be enough to cover the base. Of your pan Heat the oil up (medium heat)
Cut your garlic cloves in half and chop your chilly
Add the garlic and chilly in the pan. Drop the temperature to medium low. To understand if you are doing it right just listen and watch: you should hear a low continuous sizzle and the garlic and chilly should not stick to the pan. This is your soffritto (step 1)
Once your kitchen starts smelling great, you’ll know it’s time to add in your cherry tomatoes. If you don’t want to rely just on your sense of smell, I’d say you should add the tomatoes in after 5 minutes of sizzling. (step 2)
Add salt and the sugar as soon as you add the tomatoes in the pan. Mix well and taste.
If you want, you can also add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. This will make the sauce a bit creamier. If you don’t have tomato paste, no problem…this step is optional
Keep cooking your sauce at medium low heat for roughly 20mins and stir occasionally.
Put water in a big pot and bring to boil. As soon as it starts boiling add a couple of handfuls of coarse salt in. Don’t be afraid to overdo it. The water must be almost as salty as the sea if you want your pasta to taste good. (step 3)
Cook the pasta as per instructions
Drain the pasta, add in the sauce and mix well (step 4)
Serve on a plate with a few basil leaves on top
Tips & cheats (what can go wrong and how to fix it)
Cooking pasta: Always use big pots and fill them completely with water. Pasta does not cook well in small pots with too little water
Always salt the water of your pasta generously and preferably with coarse salt
Both your pasta and your sauce will require to be salted separately and it’s important you do so as it will allow you to achieve the perfect balance
You should always weigh your pasta before you cook it. If it’s a single course mean you should roughly calculate 100-120g per person
If you don’t like the skin of the tomatoes, you can get rid of it with the following easy steps:
Wash your cherry tomatoes and put them in the freezer
Put the kettle on and once the water is boiling pour it in a bowl
Get your frozen cherry tomatoes and throw them in the bowl with the hot water
Pick them up one by one (be careful the water is hot!) and pinch them with your fingers. The skin will magically come off!
“I am surprised…this was easy. Some things felt really natural and easy. I guess growing up in Italy helped me. It’s also nice to see how a few good quality ingredients can give you such a great taste.”
