Update: We are camped out in NYC right now, waiting for our kid to have her first kid (Anyone else besides me find that concept surreal? My baby is having a baby, wow). It has been HOT and HUMID. As a Californian, with 10 years living in LA, I can handle heat, just not humidity. Plus, I am a native San Franciscan; everyone knows City kids are heat wimps. We grabbed tomatoes and basil from the farmer’s market; anchovies, Calabrian Chilis, and a box of pasta from Little Italy, and headed back to our home away from home in LES (thanks, Mercedes!). In a New York minute, I was sipping wine and slurping pasta on the rooftop overlooking NYC.
The Original Post
YUMMO. It’s tomato time! As I was cruising through IG, I came across a reel for a Four Tomato Pasta. I watched the reel REPEATEDLY, since the detailed recipe from CocoLarkinCooks is either behind a paywall on Substack or in her soon-to-be-published cookbook. I won’t go down the Substack rabbit hole because I can’t afford to. Substack is like potato chips; nobody can eat just one.
See my IG Reel for 🍅🍅🍅🍅 Pasta!
The Search
So a cursory Google of Four Tomato Pasta from Luca in Capri gave me a starting point for how much of each ingredient to use. I played with it a bit, and I think this adapted sauce is pretty darn good and pretty easy to make.
Tomatoes: Yep, it’s tomato time, so pick your favorite varietals and make this sauce! Make a huge batch because, in the dead of winter, there is nothing better than finding a jar of tomato sauce in your freezer. Am I right? At this week’s Farmers Market, I picked up the first of the Torch tomatoes from @Liveearthfarm, and Early Girls from @resendiz. Nothing like summer tomatoes. Confession: I only had three types of tomatoes, tomato paste being the third…which worked fine.
Calabrian Chilis: Find this at any self-respecting Italian market. Comes in jars; they have a nice kick. I happen to have a jar in my pantry from @luccadeli. In a pinch, you can use chili flakes.
Anchovies: Packed in oil… Bonus, leftover anchovy filets? Substitute anchovies for Cantonese Salted Fish (Hom yu 咸鱼) in Tomato Egg Fried Rice. It works surprisingly well.
After cooking for about 20 minutes, the tomatoes have broken down and have absorbed the flavors of the chilis, garlic, basil, and anchovies. Throw in a knob of butter, some lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon, and a GENEROUS amount of grated Parm. Finish the sauce by pureeing it until smooth. Folks will be surprised there isn’t any cream in the sauce. It’s so delicious, aside from pasta, it would be great with chicken or a mild white fish.
Everything else is a pantry staple. So whaddya waiting for? Make this sauce, it’s soooo good and best of all, it comes together in a snap.
Four Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
Pasta
- 1/2 pound Spaghetti approx. 250g high-quality spaghetti
The Sauce
- 1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 cloves of garlic smashed,
- 2 small anchovy fillets
- 1 tbsp 1 T calabrian chili or a pinch of dried chili flakes
- 1-2 sprigs fresh basil
- 4 cups total of a mix of four distinct tomato varieties e.g., sweet cherry/cherub tomatoes, dark cherry tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, and chopped heirloom tomatoes
- 1 -2 tbsp tomato paste in place of one of the variety of tomatoes
Fat & Seasoning:
- salt to taste
- 1.5 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter
The Finishers:
- Zest of 1 fresh lemon
- freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano,
Instructions
Build the Flavor Base
- Heat a generous splash of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
- Add the smashed garlic, anchovy fillets, Calabrian chili, and basil.
- Cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring gently, until the garlic is fragrant and the anchovies have completely dissolved into the oil. Add tomato paste and continue to cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add tomatoes to the skillet. Toss to coat them in the infused oil, then cover the pan with a lid. Keep the heat on medium-low and let them simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. The tomatoes should completely break down, burst, and release their natural juices.
Pasta Notes
- While the sauce is simmering, cook pasta per directions. I tried this with both rigatoni and linguine, delish. It is a thick sauce, so fettuccine or spaghetti would work well also.
Finishing the Sauce
- Remove basil sprigs and garlic from the sauce. Although I would leave the garlic to be pureed with tomatoes.
- Transfer the entire contents of the skillet into a large bowl or a high-speed blender. Puree the mixture until completely smooth and velvety.
- Pour the smooth sauce back into the skillet, stir in half of the fresh lemon zest, and let it simmer uncovered for an additional 5 minutes to slightly thicken.
- Add cheese and butter, stir into sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add pasta to sauce, mix to combine. Serve immediately.
I don’t have kiddos, but I’m sure it’s surreal with the baby having a baby! And congratulations BTW.
I’m from East Texas (Nacogdoches) and the humidity is, well, exhausting to say the least. I love California, lived in SD a while and had family in Carmel.
Safe travels and again, congratulations on the new family addition!
I just found your posts and I’m loving them! Thanks for the recipes details!
Thank you so much!