COURSE: Primo piatto
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

1 pound pasta (we chose penne!)
1-pound can Italian tomatoes with juices
½ cup tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5-6 basil leaves, shredded
½ teaspoon crushed red peppers, or more to taste
1¼ cups Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
Sea salt, to taste

Heat 4 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, and sauté the garlic over medium-high heat. When the garlic is aromatic, remove from the pan and discard. Add the tomato paste and the crushed red peppers, and reduce the heat to low. Stir until fragrant, about 4 minutes, and stir in the tomatoes.  Simmer the sauce over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the sauce with salt.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and season until it tastes as salty as the sea. Add the pasta, and cook two minutes less than the package instructions or just before al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water. Drop the pasta in the sauce, tossing coat the pasta evenly with the sauce. Allow the pasta to cook in the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes. If needed, add a small amount of the cooking water to the pan to loosen up the pasta.

When al dente, plate the pasta, and top with the freshly-grated cheese and shredded basil. Serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

This recipe was first published courtesy of Eataly Magazine [2].

Find the original recipe here [3].