Sometimes simple is best. I love recipes that utilize tried and true techniques to let ingredients shine and highlight their natural flavors. This simple combination of olive oil, garlic, basil, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese comes together in minutes for a quick and delicious answer to those weeknight pasta cravings.
Tomatoes
The star of the show - the foundation of our sauce. When leaning on the natural flavor of our ingredients, it’s worth the time to be mindful when selecting your tomatoes. Take note of the style, where they’re grown, and the desired final texture of your sauce.
A good product to look out for is canned San Marzano tomatoes. San Marzano is a variety of plum tomatoes grown in Campania, Italy. Their low water content and dense flesh make them ideal for canning, retaining their rich savory flavor and velvety texture. To ensure you’re getting the good stuff straight from Italy, check for a D.O.P (Protected Designation of Origin) certification. Alternatively, tomatoes grown and canned in California are known to be high quality and have a similar tart and smooth flavor to San Marzanos.
Parmesan
I’m all for convenience, but one place I will not cut corners is grating my own cheese. When purchasing parmesan for a recipe like this, pre-grated is to be avoided at all costs. Bagged shredded cheese is often coated in an anti-caking agent called cellulose to prevent clumping. Cellulose can affect the flavor of the cheese as well as prevent smooth melting, which in this case may lead to a clumpy poorly emulsified sauce. So, break out that box grater!
Aromatics
To make a great dish, we need to build flavor right from the start. A method to accomplish this is infusing the extra virgin olive oil with aromatics. In a cold pan, add minced garlic, a generous handful of basil (stems included!) and olive oil. As the oil heats, the garlic and herbs will slowly release their natural essence, becoming fragrant and flavorful. A bonus: this step will make your kitchen smell incredible!
The goal here is to wind up with a smooth emulsified sauce. To aid this process, add a ladle full of pasta water after the tomatoes. Starch released by the pasta while boiling helps the fat bind with the water in our tomatoes, leading to a smooth creamy sauce that coats noodles beautifully. If you observe your sauce “breaking” adding a few ladles of pasta water is a great way to bring it back together.
Tomato Sauce
Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
1 28oz can of crushed plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta water, reserved
Salt to taste
1 lb pasta of choice
1. In a large skillet, add olive oil over low heat. While oil is still heating, add garlic and basil. Slowly steep ingredients in oil.
2. Once basil has wilted for about 3-4 minutes, remove.
3. Add crushed tomatoes.
4. Adjust heat to medium high and stir continuously, adding pasta water little by little to aid in emulsification.
5. Add a pinch of salt and continue to stir.
6. Once the sauce comes together, remove from heat and stir in grated cheese in small increments.
7. Add cooked pasta, toss to coat.
8. Serve and enjoy!
If you want to learn how to make pasta from scratch to go along with this delicious sauce, don't miss our upcoming hands-on pasta classes:
- Pasta and Gnocchi Workshop Monday, November 3 6pm
- Pasta Boot Camp Saturday, November 8 10am
- Pasta and Gnocchi Workshop Sunday, November 23 11am
