Tomato & Basil Spaghetti
A slow-simmered tomato sauce, a little fresh basil, and spaghetti coated in every last bit. Simple ingredients. A little patience. A very good dinner.
A LITTLE SOMETHING GOOD / TOMATO & BASILA pot of tomatoes, a handful of basil, and enough time to let a simple sauce find its way. This is dinner at its most familiar: warm, generous, and worth sitting down for.
Tomato & Basil Spaghetti
A slow-simmered tomato sauce, a little fresh basil, and spaghetti coated in every last bit. Simple ingredients. A little patience. A very good dinner.
Step by step
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Get everything ready
Peel the garlic and halve it lengthwise. Set aside one basil leaf per serving for the finished bowls. Measure your ingredients before turning on the heat.
Gently warm the garlic
Add the olive oil and garlic to a broad sauté pan. Warm over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. Keep the garlic pale; lower the heat if it begins to color.
Give the tomatoes time
Add the canned tomatoes with all their juice and the initial sauce salt. Cover and simmer gently over low heat for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Look for small bubbles, rather than a vigorous boil.
Allow about 1 hour of gentle simmering.Make the sauce smooth
Remove the garlic. Set a sieve securely over a heatproof bowl and carefully pass the sauce through it, using a spoon to help it along. Return the smooth sauce to the pan.
Bring in the basil
Add the remaining basil and warm gently for a few minutes. Taste and adjust the sauce salt if needed, then keep the sauce warm.
Cook the spaghetti
Bring the pasta water to a boil in a large pot and add the pasta-water salt. Add the spaghetti and stir. Use the package timing as a guide and taste a strand toward the end; it should retain a little bite.
Bring it all together
Drain the spaghetti, then add it to the warm sauce. Toss over high heat until the strands are evenly coated. Keep this brief so the pasta does not overcook.
Make room at the table
Divide among bowls and finish each with a reserved basil leaf. Serve right away.
Keep the garlic pale and the simmer gentle. The sauce gets its hour even when the video only gets a minute.
Before you
pull up a chair.
Which tomatoes should I use?
Peeled canned tomatoes, including their juice. The long simmer and sieve give this sauce its smooth finish.
Can I skip the sieve?
The sauce will be more textured if you do. Remove the garlic before proceeding either way.
Is there a video?
The first episode is still in development. Its finished video will be added to this page when it is ready.