This is a summer favorite. I keep an heirloom tomato in my pantry to be able to cook it on the spot.

Ingredients (for two portions):

  • 160 grams of pasta1 (80 grams per person)
  • some salt
  • a splash of olive oil
  • chili flakes to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • the equivalent of one and a half large cloves of garlic
  • one big heirloom tomato2
  • about 30 grams of butter

Preparation:

Pasta

  • Put the pasta and salt3 in a pan.
  • Add water4.
  • Cook for about 15 minutes on high heat (until your pasta is cooked).

Sauce

  • Put the olive oil in a wok.
  • Add the pepper, chili flakes, and crushed garlic.
  • Start cooking the oil until it becomes fragrant5.
  • Meanwhile, dice the tomato.
  • Add the diced tomato (and all its juice) when the garlic starts overcooking.
  • Mash it as it cooks, then let it simmer until the pasta is ready.

Assembly

  • Once the pasta is cooked, add a splash of pasta water to the wok; this will help with the consistency of the sauce.
  • Strain the pasta and add it to the wok (some leftover pasta water is fine).
  • Start mixing on high heat until you reach a sauce slightly drier than what you want6.
  • Take the wok off the heat, add the diced butter, and mix vigorously until it is completely melted.

Credits:

This recipe is an evolution of my Pasta (cherry) Tomatoes Basil recipe.

  1. Ideally, you want pasta that will catch the sauce, such as bronze-cut pasta, but you do you. ↩︎

  2. You want a large (apple-sized) ripe (it should feel like it could burst if you mishandle it) one, it will make enough sauce for one to two people. I like to get a yellow or orange one to give my pasta sauce an unusual color. Out of season, I would fall back to cherry tomatoes. ↩︎

  3. Do not skip the salt; it will salt both the sauce and the pasta. ↩︎

  4. You are reading this correctly; I start with cold water. ↩︎

  5. Be careful not to overdo it and let your garlic burn. ↩︎

  6. This will ensure good coating of the pasta. ↩︎