Lola Rugula

From the simplest of ingredients comes one of the most delicious pasta sauce recipes. Pomodoro doesn’t involve a ton of ingredients so you want them to be the best you can find. This pomodoro recipe is made with fresh tomatoes so make sure you use nice big romas that are good and ripe.

Pan Roasted Pomodoro Sauce made with Fresh Tomatoes Recipe

• 1 lb. dried pasta
• 12-14 large ripe roma tomatoes, stem ends removed, prepared as directed below
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small white onion, minced, about 1/2 cup
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + 1 teaspoon for pasta water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 small bunch of fresh basil leaves, chopped (I like to slice a few leaves and reserve them for serving)

Directions

• In a large stockpot, bring about 1 inch of water to a boil
• Add tomatoes, cover pan, and bring back to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer and steam the tomatoes for 15 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes to a colander placed over a bowl and let cool. I like to reserve the water that I steamed the tomatoes in to use for the pasta water – I just top off the pan with more water before cooking the pasta.
• Slip the skins from tomatoes and discard. Using your hands or the back of a large spoon, smash the tomatoes to release their juices into the bowl below it, crushing them into small pieces. You’re going to use both the tomatoes and their juice, but separately.
• Strain the tomatoes for about 30 minutes. You should have about 2 cups of tomato juice, give or take. If less than 2 cups, add a little water. If you have more than 2 cups, that’s just fine. Use it all!
• Note: Tomatoes can be made a day or two ahead of time. Be sure to save both the tomatoes and the juice but keep them separated.

• Fill a large stockpot with water, add 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and bring to a boil for the pasta.
• You’ll want to start cooking the pasta about the same time you add your tomatoes to your skillet, so the pasta is nice and hot
• Meanwhile, in a large, deep-sided skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat
• Add garlic and onion and cook about 2 minutes, stirring often
• Add your pasta to the separate pan of pasta water and begin cooking it now, cooking the pasta 3 minutes less than the package directions
• To the garlic and onion, add the crushed drained tomatoes and stir well
• Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tomatoes start to caramelize and brown at the edges. The timing will depend on how high your heat actually is but this is an important step so don’t rush it and don’t over-stir your tomatoes. You want them to roast on the hot pan enough to brown the edges but you don’t want to burn them, either.
• Add 2 cups reserved tomato juice, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and stir well
• Simmer about 10 minutes
• Using a pair of tongs, transfer the pasta from the water into the pomodoro sauce and toss well. I prefer to do it this way to get some of the starchy water in with the sauce, which will help the sauce cling better.
• Cook the pasta and sauce together for 3 minutes or until the pasta has finished cooking.
• Stir in chopped basil and 2 tablespoons butter and toss again
• Remove from heat
• Sprinkle with Parmesan and additional basil and serve.

This is a nice way to change up your pomodoro sauce; roasting the tomatoes gives them a more intense flavor. You can certainly substitute canned roma tomatoes if you prefer, this recipe works great either way. Also, finishing the pasta off by cooking it in the sauce helps ensure your noodles are covered with tomato-y goodness.

The pasta I used in this particular batch was bucatini, which is my husband’s favorite, but I personally prefer it with a little thinner noodle. Use the pasta you love because you really can’t go wrong with any of them, in my opinion.

Enjoy!