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(Yield: 4 - 8 portions)
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 basil sprigs, plus more for garnish
- 1 pound spaghetti, may be gluten-free
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated finely, about 1 cup
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the salt. No, that’s not a mistake regarding the amount of salt. It’s a lot, but it helps season the noodles throughout.
Now start the sauce. Open the whole peeled tomatoes, set a colander over a bowl—you want to catch the liquid—and drain the tomatoes. Use a fork to poke holes in the tomatoes. That way you make sure all the liquid drains. Remove the seeds, too. All you want in the bowl is liquid, no seeds. Set aside.
Crush the garlic cloves and remove the skins. If necessary, dice further. You want extra small pieces.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir often. You want the garlic to become golden, about 3 minutes. Add the drained tomatoes and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir every once in a while, until the tomatoes start to break down, about 6–8 minutes. The tomatoes will caramelize, meaning they’ll be brownish. Mash the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. This will help form a paste.
Add the reserved tomato liquid to the saucepan and stir. Toss in the basil sprigs and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook approximately 8–10 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water—you didn’t turn it off, did you?—and stir to prevent clumping. Cook according to directions, stirring occasionally. You will want what is known as al dente pasta, meaning it will be slightly underdone because it’s going to continue cooking once you add the sauce.
*Just before you remove the pasta, scoop out 1 cup of the cooking liquid and set aside.
Transfer the pasta to the saucepan. Turn up the heat to medium-high and pour in ½ cup of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. Cook the pasta with sauce, tossing often, until the sauce is clinging to each noodle, about 1 minute. If you think the sauce looks dry, add another tablespoon or two of the pasta cooking liquid. If it looks too wet, cook a tad longer. That will thicken it.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Sprinkle half of the parmesan cheese on the sauce and pasta and toss until it’s melted. Stir in the 2 tablespoons butter.
Divide the pasta among serving bowls, top with remaining cheese and basil leaves.
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