Pasta al Pomodoro

I fully agree that cooking the pasta in the sauce enhances the final end result. however the times used here seem way off. If the sauce is still simmering or boiling (neccessary to reduce it as directed) the end result will be a soggy mess. Better to take it out 1-2 minutes before al dente and finalize it in the sauce until the desired consitency is reached

Perfectly good sauce recipe. But 2 minutes tossed in the sauce and 5 minutes sitting after cooking (?!) will give you gluey pasta, especially if a recommended "thin" variety is used.

Last night I made a tomato sauce by grating the tomatoes on a box grater to remove the skins. It was excellent and I recommend doing it with this sauce. Otherwise, skins tend to curl up and distract from the smoothness of the sauce.

I agree that this is one of the most satisfying dishes to eat, when done right. I can so relate to your Como experience. But if you really want to recreate the true Italian way of doing it, here are a couple of things to keep in mind. Italians most use canned or bottled tomatoes, at their ripest, to make this sauce. They have less moisture, are perfectly ripe, and require WAY less cooking. Essential for the tomatoey taste. Also, no Italian would EVER let the pasta sit for 5 minutes. Ever.

Been making this for many years, with a few differences: - I don't strain the sauce. Never thought to. The skins and seeds are simply not an issue. - I finely chop 3-4 anchovies, and add to the unheated oil in the pan. As the oil heats, the anchovies melt & I then add the garlic. After about a minute, I add the tomatoes. The garlic stays in the sauce. - I top it off with some fresh basil just before serving. Might not photograph quite as well...

Chef Michael Chiarello: "Today, commercial tomatoes often have no need for the sugar, because they are bred to be more of a fruit—back in the day, the PH (or acidity level) of tomatoes was 25 to 35 percent higher than today,"

My Italian grandfather made sauce from his cherished tomato garden almost exactly like this. (He kept the garlic in the pan.) IDK if he would have recommended a 5-minute resting period, but maybe that's how long it took us to settle around the table and say grace. And we ALWAYS had our salad after the meal on top of whatever sauce was left on our plates. THE BEST.

In Sicily, my Catanese wife would use a hand-cranked strainer to de-seed/de-skin the tomatoes prior to putting them in the cooking pot. Also, it was considered a "lighter" sauce by putting the olive oil and minced garlic in after the tomatoes started cooking, which was enhanced with a little salt, sugar and fresh basil. That particular sauce was the perfect starting point for Pasta alla Norma, Parmigiana di Melanzane (eggplant) or as a basic red pasta sauce for a young one.

Run fresh tomatoes through a food mill (not a food processor), thus removing skin and seeds Place the remaining salted tomato in a sieve, and let the water drip out. Don't hurry it. Removing the water using a sieve eliminates most of the need for heat From there, experiment. I would put the now dense tomatoes and olive oil (or butter) into a pan with the al dente pasta, and cook to preference, the less the better, because the goal is the taste of fresh - not cooked -tomatoes

I made this just now and devoured it. Garden cherry tomatoes. I did add freshly grated romano cheese to mine.

Nancy, I think what they meant was to scrape whatever pulp is clinging to *underneath* the strainer into the bowl, not the leftover seeds and skin. I’ve noticed that a fair amount tends to collect under there, and it’s worth adding in.

I like the box-grater approach, too, for big ripe juicy tomatoes. But first I scoop out the watery seeds from the tomatoes and paddle the seeds in a small sieve set over a small receptacle, catching all the tomato-water. After perfuming the oil with garlic, I add the tomato-water and reduce it. Then I pour in the salt-seasoned grated tomato and simmer until the sauce has the consistency I'm looking. An occasional stir with a leafy stalk of basil is a subtle way to add flavor.

Question: the recipe says to be sure to collect the "valuable" tomato pulp from the strainer. So what do you do with that?

I made this tonight with tomatoes from my garden, Brandy Boys, Orange Wellingtons, a Cherokee Purple and a Mr. Stripey. Follow Eric exactly and you will have the most incredible tomato pasta dish imaginable. I "gilded the lily" with a salad of Sungolds and Sweet 100s (cherry tomatoes), arugula, bacon, English muffin toasted garlic croutons (the best croutons you'll ever have), a small shower of basil and mint with a sherry wine vinaigrette. What a summer romamce

Looks like nothing, tastes like everything. Eric Kim never ceases to amaze me.