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Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
When I lived in Arizona, I had an Italian neighbor who would make very tasty spaghetti in tomato sauce. She told my mother that the secret is to make sure that the garlic does not burn and that the tomatoes should always be ripe. I love her recipe, but I have to say that I have also enjoyed this dish at Spagos and at Chefs in Buffalo NY.
You’ll need:
Serves 4
½ packet of spaghetti
3 pounds ripe tomatoes
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
6 fresh, shredded basil leaves
½ teaspoon of oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmigiano Reggianno (Parmesan) cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
How To:
The tomato sauce
Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water, then cut them in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Continue to chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl together with the squeezed tomato juice.
Pour three tablespoons of olive oil into a skillet over medium heat and cook the finely chopped onion until it becomes golden brown. Add the crushed garlic over medium heat just for a bit, it should not become brown. Add the tomatoes, the oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Let this cook uncovered for about 20 minutes or until some of the liquid evaporates. Some people like to blend this mixture before they serve it over the spaghetti. Either way add the shredded basil leaves, mix them into the sauce and set it aside until your pasta has cooked.
The pasta
Bring some water to a boil (about 4 quarts) in a deep saucepan and add a dash of salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for approximately 8 minutes but make sure to try it after five minutes. It is ready when it is ‘al dente’ (not too soft but not too hard). When ready, strain the water out of the pasta and dish out a scoop of the spaghetti onto a plate. Add the sauce on top, and then sprinkle it with a little bit of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and serve it immediately.
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