Italian | Tagliatelle al Pomodoro

Posted on June 23, 2011

I got this recipe from Il Fornaio's website. Simple and fresh, good for a summer meal.

Yield: 4 primi servings

Ingredients

8 ounces Tagliatelle nests (dry weight)

8 vine-ripe tomatoes (ripe and soft) or one 26 ounce box Pomi chopped tomatoes

4 ounces extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/2 medium yellow onion

kosher sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

pinch of crushed red chili pepper

16 -18 basil leaves

water, as needed

freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

 

Method

Make a cross-hatch incision just through the skin at the top of each tomato. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Peel the skin from the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds. Remove the tomato cores and chop. (Skip this section if using Pomi tomatoes.)

Finely chop the garlic and onion. Julienne 10 of the basil leaves.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the red chili pepper and julienned basil and cook 15 seconds, then add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper.

Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. Check the tomatoes regularly. If the sauce starts to dry out, add water a tablespoon at a time, as needed.

Cook the tagliatelle until al dente. Toss the cooked pasta in with the tomato sauce until evenly combined. Plate the pasta and top with extra-virgin olive oil, hand torn basil, and grated Parmesan.

 

(Ref. Il Fornaio's "Tagliatelle al Pomodoro" recipe.)