Tagliatelle with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Introduction
The success of this dish depends on using good tomatoes. It’s not served piping hot, but at room temperature. Delicious.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
500g (1 lb 1 oz) ripe vine-ripened tomatoes
1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp chopped basil leaves, or baby basil leaves
Salt
1 small, dried bird’s eye chilli, crushed
12 small black olives, drained and sliced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
400g (14 oz) tagliatelle (or linguini or spaghetti)
Small wedge parmesan cheese
Method
1 Plunge the tomatoes into a saucepan of gently boiling water and leave for 12 seconds. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon, then transfer to a bowl of very cold water. If they are not easy to peel, return them to the water for a few more seconds. Peel the tomatoes. Chop the flesh, discarding the cores and flicking out as many seeds as possible. Place the diced tomatoes in a sieve and drain over a bowl for 30 minutes.
2 Put the drained tomatoes in a bowl and stir in garlic, chilli, basil, parsley, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, black pepper to taste, chopped olives, and oil. Transfer to a small saucepan to warm through – don’t let it get too hot, just take the chill off it. Alternatively, mix the sauce in a large china serving bowl and warm through in a microwave.
3 Cook the pasta in plenty of gently boiling, well-salted water until al dente; do not overcook. Drain and transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss quickly to combine. Serve immediately with slivers of parmesan cheese.
