Pasta al Pomodoro is the most famous Italian dish in the world, but people only started to use tomatoes with their pasta in the early 1700s, before then, they just used olive oil and cheese!
Let's celebrate this masterpiece with the traditional recipe from Southern Italy. It's easy and perfect for any occasion.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
- 400g tomato passata - choose one made with top quality Italian tomatoes
- 180g pasta, ideally pici or spaghetti
- Parmigiano Reggiano to taste, finely grated
- Fresh basil
- 1 garlic clove
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
Instructions:
- In a pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, put some extra virgin olive oil in a pan on a low heat.
- Smash the garlic clove without peeling it, and add it to the pan whole.
- Allow the garlic clove to flavor the oil, moving it around the pan to make sure it doesn't burn.
- After a few minutes, remove the garlic clove and add the tomato passata to the pan.
- Cook the tomato sauce on a low-medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and put the pasta in the pan with the tomato sauce, saving a cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Stir well, and finish cooking the pasta in the pan for 2 minutes with the tomato sauce and a few spoons of the pasta cooking water if needed.
- Add some extra virgin olive oil, grated Parmigiano and some torn basil leaves, season to taste and serve immediately.
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