Pasta alla Pomarola – A favorite of Italian grandmothers!

When I think about Italian comfort food, my mind goes to a bowl of hot pasta tossed with fresh tomato sauce and a generous sprinkle of grated cheese.  Pasta alla pomarola is exactly that:  juicy, sweet tomatoes, and, a handful of cupboard ingredients which are simmered gently until transformed into a rich and flavorful sauce.

Pasta alla pomarola is every Italian grandmother’s favorite pasta for a reason.  Not only because this classic Tuscan pasta is so simple to make, but because every grandmother comes up with her signature version of this delicious dish, adding or leaving out certain ingredients to suit her taste.

Which ingredients to use for the sauce

The star of this dish is, of course, the tomato.  Fresh, sweet and juicy tomatoes make all the difference.  When fresh tomatoes are not in season, whole San Marzano tomatoes with their juices are a good alternative.  Lots of good extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, garlic and red onion are always present in this sauce.  Slight variations also include adding finely minced carrots and celery.

Which kind of pasta to use and how to cook it

The traditional pasta to use for pasta alla pomarola is spaghetti (rigatoni, penne, or, bucatini would go very well with this sauce too).  To make sure the pasta tastes great, season the water very well; once it comes to a boil add 1 TBSP. of fine sea salt to 4 quarts of cooking water per pound of pasta (most of the salt will go down the drain).  Cook the pasta until it is al dente and reserve some of the pasta water as you will need it to thin the sauce.

How to serve it

When the pasta is ready, toss it gently with the still hot pomarola sauce and some of the reserved pasta water.  The short time that the sauce and the pasta come together is where the magic happens: the salty, starchy pasta water adds great flavor and helps the sauce adhere to the pasta.  You do not want the pasta to swim in the sauce, so add only as much sauce as necessary.  Before serving, taste the pasta:  with every bite, you should recognize all the flavors in the sauce.

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Pasta alla Pomarola - The Italian grandmorther's favorite!

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

A great weeknight Italian dish that you can make year-round!

Author: Marilena Leavitt

Recipe type: Pasta dish

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: makes 4 cups of sauce

Ingredients

• 4 medium cloves of garlic
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• --- extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lbs. fresh, ripe tomatoes, or
• one (28 oz.) can of whole plum tomatoes, packed in tomato juice
• --- sea salt
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 10 whole fresh basil leaves
• ½ lb. spaghetti (or penne, or rigatoni)

Instructions

1. Place the garlic on a cutting board and smash it with the back of a knife. Chop the red onion and set aside.
2. Set a deep saucepan over medium heat and when it is hot add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the saucepan. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and the onion and cook until, translucent, and lightly brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Core and quarter the tomatoes and set aside. If using canned tomatoes, break them up with your clean hands in a deep bowl. Add about ¼ of a cup of water to the can, swirl it around, and pour it over the tomatoes in the bowl. Season the tomatoes generously with sea salt and add the oregano.
4. When the onion and the garlic are cooked, add the tomatoes, breaking them up a bit more with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook over low heat, stirring every now and then to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Tear up the basil leaves and add to the sauce. The sauce will be ready in about 20-25 minutes for fresh tomatoes, and a little longer for canned tomatoes.
5. When the tomato sauce is cooked, add about ⅓ of a cup of olive oil and let the sauce simmer for a few more minutes, the sauce emulsifies, and becomes rich. Turn off the heat.
6. Pass the tomato sauce through a food mill, or purée it by using a blender or an immersion blender. Return to the saucepan, taste and adjust the seasoning.
7. While the sauce cooks, bring a medium pot of water to boil over high heat, with the lid on. Add enough salt to the pot (see notes above), and then add the pasta. Stir and cook until the pasta is just al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve about ¾ of a cup of pasta water.
8. While the pasta cooks, measure about 2 cups of the pomarola sauce and bring it to a simmer in a large sauté pan. Add the hot pasta to the pan and stir gently. Add some of the water to thin it out as necessary.
9. Serve at once with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese. This should serve three people as a first course or two very hungry people as a main course.

Notes

Note: You can store the rest of the sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for two months.

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