Pasta pomodoro

Made this fresh pomodoro sauce the other day, and it was so good it was almost a religious experience!  It was inspired by a dish I got at a restaurant in Manhattan about a month ago, and I think mine came out just as good as the restaurant's version.  Really packed with flavor - it could possibly have used a tiny bit more spiciness, but it was nice to be able to really taste the ingredients and not have them overpowered by spices.  The two of us ate the whole batch along with a pound of spaghetti!

I started with 6 medium tomatoes - these were the "tomato on the vine" type.  I got them along with some really nice sweet Italian basil at Dean's Produce in Millbrae, which is one of my favorite places to buy produce - it's surprisingly inexpensive, the produce is always fresh, and they have great variety.  

I removed the skin from the tomatoes by putting them in boiling water for about a minute then plunging them into a bowl of cold water - the skins then peeled right off.  Then I cut the tomatoes into wedges and removed most of the seeds, then put the wedges in the food processor and pulsed until they were barely chunky - I like a pretty smooth sauce.

Then I realized that this might not give me enough sauce, so I dumped a pint of mixed grape tomatoes (red, green and yellow - very pretty) in the food processor and pulsed them until they were about the same consistency as the larger tomatoes.  The grape tomatoes were pretty small and their skin was thin enough that I didn't need to worry about removing it.

Then I did the following:

1.  Heat about 5 Tbsp olive oil in a deep skillet.  Add 6 cloves garlic (sliced or crushed, whichever you prefer).  Saute over medium-low heat for 2 or 3 minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn or turn brown.  Add a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. 

2.   Add the tomatoes, some dried oregano (I used about 3 pinches), and a pinch of black pepper.  Let the mixture simmer over medium-low heat for about an hour, stirring every few minutes.  The goal is to reduce the sauce until it is just a little more watery than you want it.  If it seems like it's not reducing fast enough, turn up the heat a little.

3.  Add white sugar and salt to taste while the mixture is cooking, tasting the sauce as you add new ingredients.

4.  At some point you will boil some pasta (in salted water).  When your sauce is almost done, reserve a quarter-cup of the pasta water and whisk it with some white flour to make a paste, then add this paste to the sauce and let it cook for another 5 minutes.  I liked what this did for the consistency, plus I'm always reading that you should use some of the pasta water because it's starchy and flavorful.     

5.  Right before you serve the sauce, mix in 1/2 cup of finely-chopped fresh basil.  The sweet Italian basil I found at Dean's Produce was really delicious.  Actually, it was mild enough that I could have used 3/4 cup or even more, but basil is often quite a bit stronger.  Next time, I'll smell it and try to gauge how strong or mild it's probably going to be.

6.  I added the pasta (spaghetti) to the sauce and mixed it up, then served it right away. 

Seriously, as good as pasta pomodoro you would get in a good restaurant.  If I were still eating dairy products I would probably have automatically sprinkled some grated parmesan on top, but I have to say I didn't miss it at all, and leaving it off allowed the flavors of the fresh tomatoes and basil and spices to shine through.  Can't wait to make it again.