What’s Cooking Wednesday – Spaghetti al Pomodoro

The other day I had it in my head to make a rice salad with all kinds of goodies – artichokes, tomatoes, olives… but then through Michelle at bleeding espresso, I found a blog called Spaghetti al Pomodoro, a blog written by a girl who is getting ready to move to Florence.  I started from the beginning and read all the posts she’d written, about her time in Florence, and her desire to go back.  She’ll be living there in a few days.  A few times she mentioned how she liked “the hearty simplicity” of pasta and tomatoes, and so her favorite thing to eat in Italy was spaghetti al pomodoro.

I suddenly started to crave spaghetti al pomodoro and thought, “why don’t I make that instead?”  Off to the market I went, where I bought a some roma tomatoes (tomates peritas, they are called here) and some garlic.  I didn’t want to make this complicated.  I would have gotten fresh pasta from one of the many pasta shops, but instead at the store I opted for a package of spaghetti (made of semolina of course) by a brand called Matterazza.  There is something so satisfying about dried pasta sometimes.

And so I began my delicious lunch, which I ate up on the terrace.  With a glass of white wine.  I was so pleased with it that I made it again for my boyfriend last night.  He loved it.  So simple, so hearty and whole.

As for the sauce, I made it up off the top of my head when I was living in Switzerland and working as an au pair several years ago.  It has since improved.  I never had a recipe to go by, I just did it based on what I’d seen as I’d passed through my grandmother’s kitchen as a child.  Of course I’m probably way off of my observations because nothing compares to her sauce.  But anyway.

So, the sauce (salsa di pomodoro):

1 kilo of roma (perita) tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

a handful of dried oregano

a tablespoon of olive oil and a couple more because 1 is never enough

salt

sugar (to cut the acidity out of the tomatoes)

Normally you are supposed to peel and seed the tomatoes, but I never do.  That’s my confession.  I just don’t care.  I’ve done it a few times before and I like my way better – sorry .

So, dice the tomatoes the way the are.  Peel and mince the garlic and place it in a saucepan with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.  Cook the garlic a bit for a few minutes, I use medium heat.  Add the tomatoes and a good tablespoon of salt as well as a tablespoon of sugar.  Stir.

Cover the saucepan if you’d like and let the tomatoes cook in their own water.  Stir occasionally, mash the tomatoes a bit as they get more tender.  Add the dried oregano and mix it in.  Add salt if you think it’s needed.  Eventually it will all cook down.

Add more olive oil towards the end (particularly as the water will evaporate).  Once you have the sauce at exactly the point you like it (it should be chunky but most definitely a sauce), turn down the heat to simmer (or off) and start the water for the pasta.  (Put salt in the pasta water before you boil it!)

Once the spaghetti are at the way you like them (yes, spaghetti is plural for those of you who are confused), drain them.  Add the spaghetti to the sauce and mix it all together.

I find that I didn’t even need any cheese to go with this, but you are welcome to use some, of course.

*Friends in Buenos Aires – don’t worry, this is not complicated or hard in the Argentine spring/summer heat.  This sauce will take 20 minutes or so to cook down.  You can leave the kitchen and read a book with a cold glass of water and run in a few times to stir if you want.  I won’t tell anyone.

Enjoy!

*UPDATE – if you live up north where it’s fall turning into winter (meaning, tomatoes aren’t in season), you may use canned whole tomatoes.