Not all recipes are created equal, but this one is a clear winner. This classic spaghetti with fresh tomato and basil sauce is, quite simply, an all-time great. Pasta dishes shouldn’t be overcomplicated, and this one shows how good ingredients and some simple techniques is all you need.
This is the latest in our series of recipes that all feature just 7 ingredients and are ready in less than 30 minutes.
Learn how to make this dish once and it is something you will be coming back to on a regular basis. Once you taste that first mouthful, you will be thanking us forever… It’s that good.
In terms of the ingredients you could use tinned tomatoes, but it would only be about 20% as nice. The key is about finding the best and freshest tomatoes you possibly can. The same goes with the type of pasta: you could swap out for other shapes, but the spaghetti is the one that holds the sauce best.
Spaghetti With Fresh Tomato: Ingredients
- Spaghetti
- Tomatoes
- Fresh basil
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Parmesan cheese
- Spoonful of sugar
The first step is to peel the tomatoes. This will be an alien concept for anyone outside of a professional kitchen environment, but it is actually quite simple. Remove the core of the tomato using a knife.
Flip the tomato over and make a small score into the skin. You want to create an ‘X’ shape and cut about a quarter of an inch into the tomato at most.
Once you’ve prepped all the tomatoes, drop them into a pot of boiling water for about 10 seconds each. You might want to do this a pair at a time, as they are hard to fish out. 10 seconds is the absolute maximum they should be in there.
The second they come out of the boiling water have a large bowl of chilled (or iced) water so that the tomatoes can cool down instantly. This process is all about taking the skin off and nothing to do with cooking them.
Place the spaghetti into a large pan of boiling water. You’ll want to wiggle it around a little at the start using tongs or a spoon so that it doubles over and fits in the pan. The bigger the pan and the hotter boiling water the better.
Remove the tomatoes from the water and peel off the skin. If you have followed the process, the skin should come off instantly and with ease.
Heat up a large frying pan on a low to medium temperature. Add the olive oil. You want to be generous here and use a large amount!
When the oil gently starts to heat up, add the chopped garlic. You want to cook it very gently for about 2-3 minutes to extract all that wonderful flavour.
Before the garlic take on any colour, add in the peeled tomatoes. You will then want to cook them for about 10-12 minutes over a low to medium heat until the sauce comes to the perfect consistency. It will do this naturally.
When the tomatoes have broken down yet still hold a small amount of their texture, add in the strained spaghetti. You should add a tiny amount of the pasta cooking water as well. This helps with both the texture and the taste of the sauce.
Toss the spaghetti in the sauce and season liberally with salt and pepper. You want the sauce to fully coat the pasta, holding onto it.
Add a small amount of parmesan and stir it in. You should also pick the basil leaves away from the stalks.
Add the basil leaves at the very last minute. They lose their colour and turn black very quickly, so the later you add them the better.
Serve up with a little sprinkle of parmesan over the top!
This spaghetti with fresh tomato might only have 7 ingredients, but it truly is an essential recipe.
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