TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Spaghetti al PomodoroSpaghetti with Tomato Sauce
Naples’ proudest simple pasta: ripe tomatoes, garlic and basil alone. The quality of the ingredients determines the dish.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
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Ingredients (2 servings)
- Spaghetti200 g
- Peeled canned tomatoes400 g
- GarlicCrush; do not mince.2 cloves
- Fresh basilDo not cook: tear by hand to finish.10 leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil60 ml
Method
Crush the garlic
- 1 Crush 2 garlic cloves with the flat of a knife; do not mince.
Caution
Crush 2 garlic cloves with the flat of a knife; do not mince.
Infuse the garlic oil
- 1 Put 50 ml olive oil and the crushed garlic in a frying pan and infuse over low heat without coloring.
Ready when
Continue when the garlic is lightly softened and warm with a sweet aroma, about 3 minutes.
Reduce the tomato sauce
- 1 MeanwhileWhile reducing the tomatoes, start boiling a large pot of water, with 10 g salt per 1 L.
- 2 Crush 400 g canned whole tomatoes by hand into the pan and reduce over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- 3 Remove the garlic.
Ready when
Ready when the sauce is slightly concentrated and its acidity rounded.
Cook pasta and combine
- 1 Add the spaghetti to the prepared boiling salted water and cook al dente, 1 minute less than the package time.
- 2 Reserve 50 ml cooking water.
- 3 Add spaghetti to the sauce and toss for 1–2 minutes, adjusting consistency with cooking water. Plate when the sauce clings and looks glossy.
Finish with basil and oil
- 1 Turn off the heat, tear and scatter basil by hand and drizzle 10 ml olive oil to finish.
Caution
Turn off the heat, tear and scatter basil by hand and drizzle 10 ml olive oil to finish.
About this dish
In eateries down Neapolitan alleys, large pots of tomato sauce simmer at lunchtime. Pasta al pomodoro is among the pasta dishes most widely rooted in southern Italian food culture.
Tomatoes came to Europe from South America in the 16th century. Initially suspected of being poisonous, they took a long time to become accepted as food. Ordinary people began eating them in 18th-century Naples, and by the 19th century tomato pasta had become part of the city’s street scene.
San Marzano tomatoes in particular have low acidity and thick flesh, with sweetness that stands out in sauce. Many cooks choose them as especially suited to pasta al pomodoro.
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