For the pasta:
2 tablespoons salt
1 pound spaghetti, fusilli lunghi or penne
For the sauce:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 dried red chili pepper, crumbled, or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained, or 4 salted anchovies, boned, gutted and rinsed
2 cups Fresh Tomato Sauce (below) or chopped San Marzano canned tomatoes
½ cup water, plus extra as needed
2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed and drained, or capers in brine, drained (chopped if large)
½ cup pitted gaeta or other oil-cured black olives, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
Make the pasta: bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente, then drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a deep saucepan large enough to accommodate the pasta, place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the chili, garlic and anchovies. Cook over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, until the anchovies break down into a puree, crushing the anchovies with a fork or wooden spoon all the while. Don’t rush this process or use too high a heat, as the anchovies may seize before they break down. Raise the temperature to medium-high and add the tomatoes, water, capers, olives and salt; bring to a gentle boil and cover. Reduce the temperature to medium-low and cook for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes break down into a chunky sauce. Adjust the seasoning and keep warm. (The sauce can be made up to this point 2 days in advance; refrigerate until needed, then warm gently before proceeding.)
To serve: Toss the drained pasta with the sauce in the sauce and and saute over high heat for 1 minute to meld the flavors, thinning out the sauce as needed with some of the reserved pasta cooking water. Adjust the seasoning, drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and serve hot.
FRESH TOMATO SAUCE
3 pounds ripe tomatoes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 fresh basil leaves, cut into fine strips or torn into pieces
1½ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
If you are skipping the peeling and seeding step (below), then simply remove the stem end from each tomato and dice the tomatoes in ½-inch cubes.
If you wish to peel and seed the tomatoes for the sauce, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of cool water handy by the pot of boiling water. Using a paring knife, cut an X into the bottom of each tomato. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water; cook for about 30 seconds for ripe tomatoes and about 2 minutes for firmer tomatoes, until the skins begin to loosen. Drain the tomatoes. Place them in the bowl of cool water for 5 minutes, then drain them and slip off the skins. Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds. Finely dice the tomatoes and set aside; collect any of the juices from the cutting board and add them to the diced tomatoes.
In a 3-quart saucepan, place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and half of the basil. Warm gently over a low heat for about 1 minutes, just until the basil starts to become fragrant. Add the tomatoes and any of their juices, the salt and the pepper. Bring to a gentle boil. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the remaining half of the basil. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months, or refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Our assessment: Fresh pasta sauce is so much better than the alternatives. It's easy to make and a great way to use up ripe tomatoes. Instead of using anchovies, I substituted about two teaspoons of anchovy paste, which comes in a tube (refrigerate after opening it). If you don't like spicy foods, eliminated the chili pepper/red pepper flakes.
From the book: "The Best Pasta Sauces: Favorite Regional Italian Recipes" by Micol Negrin; 240 pages, $28. Published by Ballantine, 2014.
What you get: This culinary tour of Italy by region includes creamy sauces from the north, lighter sauces from the center of the country, and sweet and savory sauces from the south.
In her own words: "I invite you to join me as we travel across Italy's 20 regions for a taste of the country's most glorious pasta sauces. it is a journey that might surprise you, just as it did me, as you discover unexpected flavor combinations. And it is a journey that will hopefully inspire you, as you experience the seemingly never-ending, always fascinating, and relentlessly delicious world of Italian pasta and sauces." — Micol Negrin
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