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Fresh Tomato Pasta
Adapted from Bill Granger's first cookbook, Sydney Food. I make a 1.5x mix for 6 people, but this recipe is perfect for 4. Time: 20 min (+ 50 minutes resting time)
Course: Main
Servings: 4
Author: Claudia Brick
Ingredients
  • 1 kg vine-ripened tomatoes
  • About 1 teaspoon freshly ground sea salt (I don’t measure this exactly).
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 lemon , juice and zest of
  • 2 cloves garlic , crushed
  • 1 small mild red chilli , deseeded and finely chopped (or more/less to suit your taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 400 g fresh spaghetti
  • 1 cup lightly packed basil leaves , torn
  • freshly grated parmesan cheese , to serve
Instructions
  1. Put a full kettle on to boil. Score a cross in the base of each tomato and place in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over them. Drain after 30 seconds or when you can start to see the edges around the cross peeling up. Peel the skin off the tomatoes.
  2. Halve each tomato and scoop out the seeds, juice and any tough pith in the centre. Sometimes you can press the halved tomato together to do this, or just use a small paring knife and your fingers. Roughly chop and place in a sieve over a bowl. Sprinkle over the salt and leave to drain for half an hour.
  3. Transfer the roughly chopped tomatoes into a larger bowl and add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon, chilli, and some ground black pepper to taste. Leave for 20-30 minutes for the flavours to combine.
  4. Meanwhile, put a large bot of water on to cook the pasta. When ready to serve, cook the pasta according to packet instructions and add the basil to the tomatoes. Divide the pasta and tomato sauce between the bowls and serve with the grated parmesan.
  5. You can also serve this with panko crumbed fish or barbecue chicken thighs, grilled vegetables and/or crusty bread (see above).