How to Make the Perfect Tomato Pesto Pasta

Ah..freshly ripened tomatoes right off the vine is one of the summers truest gifts. There is so much you can do with this fruit, so today I’m going to share with you a southern Italian tomato pesto they call, Pesto alla Trapanese. 

Serves 8 Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups tomatoes, seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped.
5 garlic cloves, minced
30 fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Note: Make while your pasta is cooking.

Add the first 6 ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cheese but just blend until mixed. Transfer to a bowl, taste test to see if adjusting seasoning is necessary. Set aside.

How do you make spaghetti? Do you boil the pasta, drain the water, rinsing the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process, transfer to a plate and pour the sauce on top with cheese and seasoning? Oh and do you throw the pasta on the kitchen cabinet to see if it sticks?

The problem with this method is that it gets sticky and cold by the time you eat it. Rinsing the pasta removes some of the starch, which makes it more chewy than silky tasting. Also rinsing doesn’t allow the sauce to evenly coat or absorb resulting in blah tasting pasta.

If you add the pasta directly from the water to the sauce using a pasta spoon without rinsing will allow the sauce to coat/absorb every bite of pasta and improves the texture.

Cook your pasta slightly undercooked or al dente, testing the pasta every 30 seconds to get it right. For dried spaghetti pasta start testing at the 7 minute mark. On pasta boxes it should post cooking times for firm, al dente and soft.

Once you’ve cooked your 8 servings of pasta to your desired taste, reheat the tomato pesto in a medium size saucepan , Add The Pasta to The Tomato Pasta Sauce and stir to combine.  Then plate with your favorite toppings such as cooked shrimp, cut up tomatoes or additional Parmesan cheese.