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32
L'Italo-Americano
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2019
LA BUONA TAVOLA
RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES
It's important to finish cooking the pasta in the pan with the tomato sauce (Copyright: Michele Becci )
Continued form page 30
A few leaves of basil
Kosher salt
Red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil to finish
1 pound pasta (preferably
made from Gragnano wheat)
Directions:
In a large saucepan or skillet
(big enough to hold the pasta – I
use my large cast iron skillet),
warm the oil and the garlic
cloves over medium low heat.
Allow the garlic to slowly sim-
mer in the oil until lightly
browned on each side. Remove
the garlic from the pan.
Raise the heat to medium.
Add the can of tomatoes with
their juice to the pan (some
cooks like to drain the tomatoes
which results in a thicker sauce.
Either is fine). Add a few large
pinches of salt to the sauce, a
pinch of red pepper flakes and a
few leaves of basil. Gently push
on the tomatoes with a wooden
spoon to break up them up in the
sauce. Allow the sauce to simmer
and thicken slightly.
Meanwhile, put up a large pot
of salted water (like the sea!) to
cook the pasta. Be at the ready to
transfer the pasta into the sauce
pan as you will only cook the
pasta for a few minutes in the
water. When it comes to a boil,
drop in the pasta. Note how long
the package says until al dente
and only cook it for half that
time in the water. Transfer the
pasta to the sauce pan to finish
cooking. For example, if the
package says 8 minutes for al
dente, transfer it to the sauce at
around 4 minutes. Finish cook-
ing the pasta to al dente in the
sauce. Feel free to add a little bit
of the pasta cooking water to the
pan to further meld the flavors.
When ready, transfer the
pasta to a heated serving bowl.
Sprinkle with a few fresh basil
leaves and a drizzle of extra vir-
gin olive oil and serve!
Some Neapolitan's would
balk at serving grated cheese
with this dish as it muddles its
pure flavors, I say try it first
without and add only if you feel
you need to!
