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Spaghetti With Tomato Sauce

Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsServes 4 to 6
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As simple as tomato sauce is, it can be hard to make flavorful. Once I was making a sauce with assertive ingredients--garlic, basil, salt and pepper--but it remained rather listless. And then I recalled something I learned long ago when I was assisting James Beard with one of his Oregon classes.

He was a very talented cook, but somehow he just couldn’t make his tomato sauce taste as he wanted.

So he told me to go get 2 pounds of butter from the refrigerator (this was a large caldron of sauce he was making). He unwrapped all the butter and dumped it into the sauce, stirring until it melted and was blended in.

Then he held out a spoonful to taste. It was a miracle--the sauce had richness, flavor and balance. Give this simple answer a try.

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1

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Set aside. Remove the papery outer skin of the garlic and chop the cloves into tiny pieces. Set aside. Cut the basil leaves into small pieces and set aside.

3

Place the tomatoes, cut side up, in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Salt and pepper them lightly.

4

Mix together the garlic, 1/3 cup of the parsley and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small bowl. Place the garlic mixture on the tomatoes and drizzle 2 more tablespoons of the oil over all.

5

Bake uncovered until the tomatoes are mushy, about 45 to 55 minutes. About 20 minutes before the tomatoes are done, put a large pot of salted water on for the spaghetti. When the water is boiling, add the spaghetti, stir, and after about 12 minutes, start testing every minute or so until the spaghetti is tender, but firm. Drain.

6

Mix together the remaining parsley and olive oil, the butter and the basil in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes and spaghetti. Toss to mix well, and serve.