Fettuccine with Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce

Ottolenghi is known for complicated recipes with an endless list of ingredients. Good news if that has stopped you from ever daring to open one of his books: his latest book Simple contains only recipes that anyone can make. This spicy tomato sauce takes a while, but it is absolutely not difficult and incredibly delicious.

Buy a generous quantity of cherry tomatoes when they are ripe and sweet to make a double or triple batch of sauce. It does take some time – a little over an hour – but you can keep it for 5 days in the refrigerator and 1 month in the freezer. The ancho chilli gives it a wonderfully rich and smoky flavour, but you can replace it with ¼ teaspoon mild smoked paprika if you have that in stock instead of the ancho. If you do not want any heat, you can also leave out the chilli pepper.

Method

1. Pour 75 ml olive oil into a large sauté pan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and fry, stirring regularly, for 1 minute until it starts to caramelise. Add the tomatoes – carefully, so the oil does not splatter – along with the sugar, chilli pepper and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour in 200 ml water and continue stirring for 4 minutes until the tomatoes break down and the liquid is gently bubbling. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce gently for 1 hour. Stir occasionally until the tomatoes and ancho chilli break down and the sauce is thick. Stir the basil into the sauce and set it aside in a warm place.

2. Fill a large pan with plenty of water and place it over high heat. Bring it to the boil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta for 10–12 minutes, or according to the instructions on the packet, until al dente. Drain the pasta and stir it into the sauce. Divide the dish between deep plates, sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Title: Simple
Author: Yotam Ottolenghi
Publisher: Fontaine Uitgevers
Price: €29.99

Photography: Jonathan Lovekin