At the height of tomato season, which is right now, you can't have too many great tomato recipes. This one is a keeper. It's another from Michael Chiarello, from the same cookbook that I mentioned before (which, it should be said, came to our attention via friends Sang and Stacy, who tried it at their Sunday cookbook dinner club; buy it here). The sauce is just cherry tomatoes that have been squished by hand and cooked in a hot pan with garlic.
Pasta Pomodorini
3/4 pound spaghettini or spaghetti (good with whole wheat)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup sliced garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pint small cherry tomatoes, stems removed, crushed (use your hands)
Salt
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, each torn into 2 or 3 pieces
Parmesan cheese
1. Cook your pasta in salted water (high boil, add pasta, stir so it doesn't stick together).
2. While the pasta cooks, heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the garlic, and cook until the slivers are golden brown and crisp, then add the red pepper flakes for about 30 seconds. Raise the heat to high and add the tomatoes. Simmer briskly to soften the tomatoes and thicken the juices, about 3 minutes. Season with salt.
3. When the pasta is al dente, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the warm pot off the heat. Add the sauce and the basil and mix well. Add some cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Sprinkle cheese and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Serves 4, except when Vanessa is at the table, in which case it serves her plus one small child who isn't particularly hungry
We say: YUMMY.
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3 comments:
Oooh! I'm mentioned in your blog. How cool! I will say that cook book is awesome. Kyle made the best ribs I've ever had from that cook book. And, it's not that difficult to make either.
Oooh! Must try that one.
Which other recipes have you tried and liked? Or disliked, for that matter?
Real time update: I read this last week, sounded delicious and easy. Made a critical error, when I slipped while measuring the chili and ended up adding about a tablespoon of dried Thai chili. Corrected by adding a LARGE tomoato from the farmer's market (I'd started out with almost 2 pints of grape tomotoes) and more olive oil. I almost triggered an asthma attack for Andrew from the chili fumes, but now we've just each had thirds and are stuffed. We say yummy!! Will make this again, but will manage my mise en place a little better next time.
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