Pasta al Pomodori – Simple pasta with tomatoes
A Simple Pasta
My friend’s eyes fluttered with surprise as she slowly savored her first bite of the
Pasta al Pomodoro. She swallowed, smiled in satisfaction, and then offered me a toast, lifting her glass of local Cortona Syrah and proclaiming, “This is just the best ever. I mean it. So delicious…I could eat it every day. And I love, love, love how simple it is.”
I nodded and sipped my wine, thinking I had succeeded as a hostess in putting my guest at ease and letting her believe this pasta was thrown together effortlessly. Indeed, it can be when you use store-bought tomatoes and olive oil. However, for me, this simple dish has its beginnings well over three hundred years ago when the farmers who owned my land in Cortona, Italy, planted the original olive grove. Like most savory cuisine in Italy, olive oil commands a starring role, and it’s a fact that the oil from your olives—handpicked and cold-pressed—always tastes better than any other. Peppery, floral, and herbal, its color registers between emerald and olive green. It first hits your tongue, smooth and unctuous, before lodging in your soul.
The tomatoes, however, elevate this dish to the realm of the Gods, and obtaining them was anything but fast. This past spring, I planted a variety of tomatoes, including San Marzano and three different types of cherry tomatoes. The plants were staked and trellised with bamboo poles and twine, regularly pruned, watered, and kept bug-free with companion plantings of marigolds and nasturtiums. In the late summer, with heat pouring from the sun, whole San Marzano were harvested, peeled, and canned, with only lemon juice, salt, and a sprig of fresh basil added to ensure their prime, ripe flavor.
The day before serving the pasta, I gathered cherry tomatoes from the vines and slow-roasted them. This is the equivalent of transforming a grape into a raisin. The flavor intensifies, and the texture is altered into something with more teeth. What an amazing condiment to be able to pull from your refrigerator. I often prepare slow-roasted tomatoes in the winter, when I long for tomatoes on the vine but need to settle for store-bought. They are sublime.
Pasta al Pomodoro
Serves 4
Like many pasta dishes, this is more of a process and assemblage than an actual measure-and-follow-directions recipe. With the ingredients in place, the dish comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta to the al dente stage, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. I love using Pici for the pasta, a broad, chewy noodle, native of Tuscany. Feel free to use fettuccini, which is equally good, or any pasta of choice.
14 ounces (400 grams) pici, fettuccini, spaghetti or pasta of choice
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) salt
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) olive oil
3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) pine nuts
1-1/4 cups (312 milliliters) slow-roasted cherry tomatoes (see below)
1-1/4 cups (312 milliliters) whole canned tomatoes, broken into small pieces, with 1/2 cup (125 milliliters) juice (San Marzano if possible)
1/3 cup (80 milliliters) creamy goat’s cheese, torn in small pieces
1/3 cup (80 milliliters) fresh basil, thinly sliced and divided
1/2 cup (125 milliliters) Parmesan cheese, fresh grated and divided, more if you wish for table
Directions
Heat olive oil in a small skillet, add pine nuts, and toast until golden. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Be careful toasting pine nuts as they burn easily.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon (15ml) salt and pasta, and cook according to package directions until al dente.
While the pasta water is coming to a boil, place both tomatoes and the ½ cup (125ml) juice in a skillet large enough to hold the cooked pasta, and heat to a solid simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon and reducing the tomato juice by half. Turn off heat if the sauce has reduced before pasta is cooked.
When pasta is al dente, use thongs to lift from the water and place in the tomato sauce on low heat. Add goat's cheese and toss with pasta. If the sauce seems too thick, add some of the pasta water, a little at a time. When goat's cheese has melted, remove pan from heat and add half the basil and cheese. Toss, plate, and sprinkle evenly with pine nuts, remaining basil, and Parmesan. Serve extra Parmesan on the table if you wish.
Slow-roasted cherry tomatoes
Can be prepared up to 1 week in advance
2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) olive oil
3 cups (750 milliliters) cherry tomatoes, cut larger ones in half
2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) coarse salt
1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) red pepper flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 200° F (93° C).
Toss all ingredients together in a ceramic roasting dish large enough to hold tomatoes with them being no more than 2 tomatoes deep.
Roast uncovered for 2½-3 hours until they are slightly colored and have given up their juices. Toss them a couple of times while cooking with a wooden spoon.
Remove from oven and store in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Great served on bruschetta or pasta, or added to a stew, soup, or sauce.
Note: The tomatoes will cook down. Any leftovers are easily used for bruschetta or topping for soft cheese.
About Molesini Wine Club
This recipe was developed for Molesini Wine Club to be included in virtual tasting notes with wine shipments. Molesini Wine Club, based out of Cortona, Tuscany, features Italian wines that are otherwise unavailable outside of Europe. Marco and Paolo Molesini work closely with over 1,000 producers from across the country to ensure they are procuring the top labels from small producers making the finest boutique wines. Explore with them as they lead you through Tuscany, Piedmont, Sicily, and many lesser-known wine regions of their country. Members can customize shipments, decide on a tier that fits their palate best, and enjoy exclusive access to the most stunning wines of Italy. As a member of the Molesini Wine Club means becoming part of the Molesini family and we invite you to join us for this experience. For more information, please visit the Molesini Wine Club website.
Sally Uhlmann’s passion for cooking led her to publish a memoir-style cookbook, “Just Cook with Sally.” She splits her time between the States and her farmhouse in Cortona, Italy, when she is not traveling the world. Sally cooks, develops recipes, and writes stories—mostly about the intersection of food, travel, and her life.
