Spaghetti al Pomodoro
Simple Italian pasta with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and fresh basil. With so few ingredients, good produce makes all the difference.
Method
Four steps · 30 minutesFlavour the oil
Warm the olive oil and garlic gently for about 3 minutes, until the garlic is golden. Do not let it brown.
Simmer the sauce
Add the tomatoes and a few basil stalks. Salt and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, until thickened. Remove the garlic and stalks.
Boil the pasta
Boil the spaghetti in salted water until a minute short of al dente. Save 1 dl of the pasta water and drain.
Finish in the pan
Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce for about a minute, with a splash of pasta water. Stir in the basil leaves and serve with Parmesan.
Our tips
The tomatoes are the whole dish here, so buy the best you can find. San Marzano is a good choice.
Save more pasta water than you think you need. Its starch is what makes the sauce cling to the pasta.
Tear the basil and add it at the very end, so that it keeps its freshness.
If the tomatoes are sour, a small pinch of sugar rounds off the sauce.
A lighter version
Fewer calories, same dishUse 2 tbsp of olive oil instead of 4 tbsp.
Use 320 g of pasta instead of 400 g, and serve with a large salad.
Use 20 g of Parmesan instead of 40 g.
With all the swaps, about 400 kcal per portion instead of about 550 kcal (estimate). The dish gets a little less rich.
- Energy
- about 550 kcal
- Protein
- about 18 g
- Fat
- about 18 g
- Carbohydrates
- about 80 g
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