Pasta · Semplice
The Essential Tomato Spaghetti
Spaghetti al Pomodoro
- Preparation
- 10 min
- Cooking
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Semplice
Every Italian cook is measured, sooner or later, against this dish. Three principal ingredients — tomato, pasta, basil — leave nowhere to hide, which is precisely why the quality of each matters absolutely. Made with true San Marzano tomatoes, it tastes of the Vesuvian sun itself.
- 01
Coax the garlic
Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over low heat with the crushed garlic and basil stems. Let them infuse for three or four minutes until fragrant and barely golden. Remove both — their work is done.
- 02
Cook the tomatoes down
Crush the San Marzano tomatoes by hand into the pan, juices and all, and season with salt. Simmer gently for twenty minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce thickens and turns a deep brick red. Taste; add the pinch of sugar only if the tomatoes ask for it.
- 03
Boil the spaghetti short
Cook the spaghetti in well-salted water, draining it two minutes shy of the packet’s instruction. Reserve a generous cup of the cooking water. The pasta will finish its journey in the sauce, drinking in tomato instead of water.
- 04
Finish together
Transfer the spaghetti to the simmering sauce with a splash of pasta water and toss continuously over medium heat for two minutes. The starch will bind sauce to strand until each one is lacquered red. Tear in most of the basil at the last moment.
- 05
Plate with intention
Twirl into nests on warmed plates and spoon over any sauce left in the pan. Finish with the remaining basil, a thread of olive oil, and Parmigiano at the table.
To Serve
Serve immediately, with the rest of the Parmigiano and your best olive oil within reach. Nothing else is required; that is the point.
With Wine
A youthful Chianti Classico or a chilled Frappato — bright, cherry-toned reds whose acidity mirrors the tomato’s own.
Per serving
- Energy
- 540 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbohydrate
- 82 g
- Fat
- 16 g
