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    Home ~ Recipes ~ Recipes For One

    Northern Italian Tomato & Basil Sauce

    LAST UPDATED: Feb 20, 2021 · PUBLISHED: Mar 18, 2019 · BY: Sydney · Leave a Comment

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    Fresh Tomato and Basil Sauce is the first dish I learned to cook while living in Italy. The Italian recipes I share are the ones from my many months living in Broni, Italy.

    this Recipe

    Ingredients

    The full ingredients list and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    About the Roma’s: they must be ripe, if you slice them open and they are not a nice red then the flavor will be affected.  The riper the Roma the more tomato flavor your sauce will have. For the best sauce, peel and de-seed the tomatoes, the purpose is a peeled tomato will provide for a creamier fresh sauce. Also, removing the seeds from the tomatoes will avoid any bitter flavor. An easy way to peel the Roma tomatoes is by dropping them in boiling water for about a minute, remove with a slotted spoon, cooling slightly then pulling the skins off.  

    If you are short on time then you can skip the peel and de-seed, however, I recommend at some point you try the above to determine for yourself if the extra 5 -10 minutes is worth it.

    A bit about Basil: I shred and add half of the basil while simmering the tomatoes and the last half is shredded and tossed on top of the sauce.  If you are short on time you can use the frozen basil available from Trader Joe's.  Just don’t add the frozen at the last minute because well, it won’t cook properly.

    Garlic: Easy peel your garlic by cutting off one tip and microwaving for a few seconds.  This loosens the peel and the clove will pop out nicely. Watch the garlic in the pan, don’t let the garlic overcook and turn brown. The Best Pasta For the pasta, please do not rinse, the starch remaining on the spaghetti after draining helps the sauce adhere to the spaghetti noodles.  Also, don’t overcook the spaghetti.

    Olive Oil: Use a good extra virgin olive oil but nothing too expensive. California Olive Ranch and Lucini are two of my favorite brands.

    Cooking the Spaghetti

    While I prepare my sauce ingredients I have a large stockpot of boiling water at the ready.  After the sauce is simmering on the stove, I’ll drop in the spaghetti and put my timer on for 10 minutes or the time indicated on the package. Bring the spaghetti to boil while stirring occasionally, then after about 2 minutes cover the pot (don’t uncover until the timer minutes are up) and remove it from the burner, let sit until the timer goes off then check your spaghetti for doneness.    If it needs a little more time, simply recover and let sit for another minute or until the spaghetti is cooked to your taste. 

    fresh tomato and basil pasta

    Fresh Tomato and Basil Sauce over Spaghetti

    An authentic northern Italian light fresh pasta dish.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 1 servings
    Calories: 369kcal
    Author:Sydney Dawes

    Ingredients

    • 2 Medium size ripe Roma tomatoes-peel de-seed, and diced
    • 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • A handful of fresh basil
    • 2 tablespoons onion diced
    • 2 garlic cloves –pressed
    • Salt to taste
    • Red pepper flakes optional
    • 4- ounces Dry Spaghetti
    • Grated Parmesan optional

    Instructions

    • Fill a stockpot with water and cook pasta according to package instructions.
    • Heat pan over medium heat, after heated add the olive oil.
    • Add the diced onions and sauté until soft.
    • Next add the garlic and stir with wooden spoon, don’t let the garlic turn brown.
    • Add the diced Roma’s and sprinkle a little salt and basil and to bring out the flavor. 
    • Simmer for several minute , if it looks like its drying out turn down the heat a bit and add a tad more olive oil, then add the remaining basil. 

    Notes

    Optional :If using red pepper flakes add these when cooking the onion.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 3783mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g

    More simple pasta recipes

    • Easy Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe
    • Cheese and Pepper Pasta (Cacio e Pepe)

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    Cooking scrumptious small batch recipes for one and sometimes for two are created in my small 1960’s kitchen. I learned to cook Shepherds Pie in England and Classic Marinara while living in Italy. Born in Southern California and raised in the Midwest, my cooking represents the best of both regions with an added touch of Southern hospitality.

    More about me →

    Looking for stew recipes? This is the place for all-season recipes! Stews aren't just a cold-weather dish.


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