Pasta al Pomodoro

By Lauren

Spicy, tomatoe-y, bucantini-y

Did you know that Pasta al Pomodoro is Italian for Tomato pasta? I think it's a ridiculous miracle that the Italians can take a few simple ingredients and come up with dishes so good, dropping the fork becomes impossible until every strand of noodle has disappeared. Effortless, clean, and so yummy is my definition of Italian cuisine which is why it is my favorite. 

Sunday I went out for an early grocery trip in search of ramps or wild leeks with my friend Erin. Later after we were snug and cozy with some sauteed ramp, brie, and radish crostini I became inspired by the cover of  of bon appetit's pasta issue lazing across her new IKEA coffee table. It wasn't until an early lunch at Rossi's deli in poughkeepsie New York that I decided I was going to put my own spin on their recipe. I had no idea that Rossi's was an Italian deli and even less knowledge that it was part specialty Italian item grocery store. Can we say 1 gallon jars of Nutella?? It almost seemed like fate when I looked down and discovered the very first package of bucatini I have ever had the pleasure of coming across in my life. Sine the Pasta al Pomodoro recipe called specifically for bucatini, I decided I had to do it.

Pasta al pomodoro

Ingedient                                Amount

Extra-virgin olive oil               ¼ cup

Onion, medium, minced         1 each

Garlic cloves, minced             4 each

Crushed red pepper               1 pinch

    Flakes

Tomato paste                         1 Tbsp.

Peeled tomatoes, crushed       1 28 oz. can

    into smaller chunks

Kosher salt                              as needed

Fresh basil leaves, chopped      1/4 cup

Bucatini or spaghetti                12 oz.

Unsalted butter, cubed             2 Tbsp.

Parmesan or Pecorino,            1/2 cup

    finely grated

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5-10 minutes. 

2. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and cook until aromatic. Sprinkle in the crushed red pepper flakes and stir for another minute. 

3. Increase heat to high, add the tomatoes, and bring to a boil. 

4. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes until the sauce thickens and develops a good flavor. Take off the heat and fold stir in the basil.

5. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, add the bucatini, and cook, stirring occaisionally until al dente.

6. Drain the pasta and reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.

7. Warm the sauce over medium heat and add the cooking water to loosen sauce. Remove from the heat and add the butter and cheese, stir to melt. Fold in the pasta and serve with hot italian sausage.

Big beautiful basil leaves double as decor and seasonings.