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Spaghetti al Pomodoro: The 3-Michelin-Star Tomato Sauce That Breaks Every Rule

At Ristorante Quattro Passi, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant perched on the cliffs of Nerano along Italy’s Amalfi Coast, Chef Fabrizio Mellino proves that sometimes less really is more.His signature Spaghetti al Pomodoro abandons canned tomatoes, heavy purées, and long cooking times altogether. 
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 2
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 lb Pasta you can double the ingredients for 1lb of pasta and make four servings.
  • Cherry tomatoes halved (enough to cover the bottom of your sauté pan).
  • 3 cloves of Garlic peeled and lightly crushed.
  • A generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • 6-8 Fresh Basil leaves
  • Pinch of Salt
  • Water enough to just cover everything.

Equipment

  • Large Saute Pan

Method
 

  1. You want to begin by layering everything into a cold sauté pan. Tomatoes flesh side down. Then you’re going to add your water, just enough to cover everything and bring it up to the softest simmer. You do not want to boil it.
  2. Give it 20 minutes, and remove the garlic, and then gently mash the tomatoes, and then gently cook for another 10 minutes.
  3. Strain through a fine wire mesh and then your sauce is ready to go. As mentioned, I like to put mine in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors come together, but you can cook with it right away.
  4. Cook your pasta, ideally spaghetti, until it is about 2 to 3 minutes undercooked, then set aside a little bit of the pasta water.
Note: I use 1/2 lb of dried pasta, as I feel that’s the right concentration with the delicate sauce.
  1. Drain it and then you’re going to put it into your sauté pan with the warmed sauce and stir it drizzling olive oil a bit at a time until it emulsifies together and becomes a creamy sauce. It’s almost like you’re making a mayonnaise. The oil needs to be added gently so it will emulsify.
Note: If you feel you need a splash of the pasta water you can use it, but normally I don’t feel I need to.
  1. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Notes

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