A super simple, uber-tomatoey sauce, the extra tomato flavor comes from the combination of fresh and canned tomatoes, plus the addition of tomato paste. We recommend tomatoes from Italy (of course) and like the paste that comes in the tubes. We love serving this with Monograno Farro Penne Rigate pasta—the nuttiness of this heritage wheat is the perfect complement for the tomatoes. Cooking the pasta in the sauce for the second half of the cook time almost infuses the pasta with the sauce, creating an unexpected richness from such humble ingredients.
Recipe Developed by Riccardo Felicetti and Stefano Caffari. Photos by
Stefano Caffarri. Find him on Instagram @stefanocaffarri.
PREP TIME
5 minutes
COOK TIME
15 minutes
SERVES
Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as starter
Ingredients
- 1 box Monograno Farro Penne Rigate
- 1 pound ripe and red tomatoes (Roma or Heirloom Cherry are great), chopped
- 1 16-ounce can San Marzano Tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 3.5 ounces Tomato Paste, look for the imported Italian ones in the tube
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Method
- Put a large pot of salty water on to boil.
- Heat a pan and rub garlic in it and then discard.
- Add fresh tomatoes to pan and cook until they release their water and reduce.
- Mix in canned tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Cook penne half way, drain, put in the pan and add a little olive oil until the tomato sauce grips pasta and continue cooking until pasta is al dente. You might need to add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce, but you’re looking for a concentrated tomato flavor to almost infuse into the pasta.
- Serve topped with a little fresh basil.