The Best of Local Produce – Spaghetti al Pomodoro. I always try to use local ingredients where possible. Living here in Jersey, as I’ve written before, we are pretty blessed with an abundance of beautiful food, grown, raised, or caught on land and at sea. We also have amazing bakers, brewers, distillers, cooks and cake makers. But I don’t promote any of it anywhere near as much as I should. With this in mind, my next few recipes will unashamedly focus on cooking almost entirely with these great ingredients.
If I use milk, cream or butter, you can be sure it’s from the island’s dairy farms. If I cook seafood for myself or a writing commission, I will use fish, crab, lobster or scallops all sourced in local waters*. In the shops we can buy some locally grown salads and vegetables, and we have farm shops and the hedge veg. This year I have also started visiting the island’s new regular farmers market and cooking from scratch with the produce available. This process is something akin to when I learnt to cook at home using seasonal ingredients before the dominance of supermarket produce.
*Sadly I’m the only member of our family who eats shellfish apart from the cat.
Michelin-starred Pasta al Pomodoro
The idea for today’s recipe came to me while I was (doom?) scrolling ideas for my weekly local radio chat. Over the last couple of years, I’ve talked about grilling, poaching, roasting, frying, baking and barbecuing all the lovely locally available ingredients, but for the next few I want to do something a little different. Then I found this fantastic pasta dish by an Italian Michelin-starred chef that everyone can make at home. No special equipment. No fancy science, relying one hundred per cent on the quality of the ingredients.
Fabrizio Mellino is one of the youngest chefs to earn three Michelin stars. After travelling the world and working in some of the best kitchens, he returned to his family’s restaurant on the Amalfi coast. Pasta al Pomodoro is perhaps his most famous dish. A celebration of local produce, it is simply pasta served in an intensely flavoured tomato broth. Made only from tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil and salt, it is packed with savoury umami and the taste of summer. The secret is to heat the ingredients very gently and cook slowly to maximise the flavours.
What to drink with Pasta and Tomato Sauce?
Many wine guides suggest drinking a light to medium-bodied Chianti Classico made primarily with the Sangiovese grape. The acidity of the wine balances the acidity of the tomatoes. If you want to try something a little more adventurous, I think you should look for an ‘Etna Rosso’ from Sicily. These wines are also refreshingly acidic, lightly tannic and have a very distinct minerality from the volcanic soils. If you prefer something fruitier, try an Italian rosé from Veneto or Abruzzo.
I love the sweet, savoury flavour of ripe tomatoes and use them in lots of my recipes from the simple but delicious Spanish tapas Pan con Tomate, the classic Italian appetiser Caprese Salad mad with Mozzerella and more fresh basil and Spaghetti alle vongole e pomodorini or Spaghetti with Clams and Tomatoes.
My (Michelin?) Pasta al Pomodoro
Now I am not a Michelin-level chef, and I normally talk about adding ingredients that add layers of flavour. A sauce, for example, might be based on using a mirepoix, a mix of onion, carrot and celery to add base notes. You might add wine or stock. I have to admit to you that cooking this dish was a revelation. Cooking at a low temperature helps keep all the flavours in the sauce. However, it will take a little time, and please don’t try to rush it, as your kitchen will be filled with the most delicious, hunger-inducing aromas. Be patient; it’s absolutely worth the wait
Pasta al Pomodoro
Ingredients
- 750 gr ripe Cherry Tomatoes, washed and halved
- 300 gr dried Spaghetti
- 200 ml approximately quality Olive Oil
- 10 Basil leaves
- 3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and sliced
- A generous sprinkle of Jersey Sea Salt
- A pinch of ground White Pepper
- To garnish
To garnish
- 2 Ripe Tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and finely sliced (optional)
- 4 small Basil Leaves
Equipment
- A wide deep-sided pan
Instructions
- Put the tomatoes, garlic and basil into a large, wide pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add sufficient cold water to just cover. Drizzle over around fifty millilitres of the olive oil.
- Place over a low heat and bring to a temperature of around ninety degrees centigrade. The sauce does not need to boil or even simmer just heat gently to slowly cook the tomatoes and garlic until soft. This can take a couple of hours. Top up the water if required.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before passing through a kitchen sieve. The liquid will poor through but you will need to press the tomatoes gently with a back of a spoon to push the flesh through the sieve. Discard any left-over skin or pips.
- Gently heat the liquid and the pureed tomatoes and reduce to thicken slightly and achieve a nice coating consistency. Add a glug or two of the olive oil to add extra body and a shine to the sauce.
- Cook the pasta per the manufacturer's instructions until almost done, then quickly drain and toss in the reduced tomato sauce and finish cooking. Correct the seasoning.
- Remove from the heat, spiral on a fork and centre onto a plate or bowl. Spoon over a little extra sauce, garnish and serve.
Notes
Check your pasta to see if it contains eggs
Can I ask a Favour?
If you enjoyed this post or any of my recipes on my blog, grab yourself a coffee, and please drop me a line. Or you can simply like the recipe above, share it, leave a comment or like my post on Instagram, and don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter.
Please leave a comment I'd love to hear from you