Fresh tomato pasta is hardly a new invention: there are countless recipes spread across the internet, including versions from Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. And then there’s my mom’s incarnation, which is threaded with mozzarella and basil. It’s been heavy in the family rotation since I can remember and is one of the dinners I took with me when I moved out and started cooking for myself.
Although each tomato pasta recipe is slightly different, they have the same throughline: Summer tomatoes are perfect. Do as little to them as possible.
This is my take.
Start by cutting 8 ounces of cherry or sungold tomatoes in half or quarters so that the pieces end up being of similar size. Place those in a medium bowl. This is the vessel that everything will end up in, so you want it to be on the bigger side.
Grate 1 medium garlic clove over the tomatoes with a microplane and pour in ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil. This is your sauce, so while any olive oil will be delicious, now is one of those times where you should use the good stuff if you have it. Season with kosher salt and stir everything together. (If you’re nervous about the amount of salt, start with a small pinch and give it a taste. Salt makes tomatoes sweeter and fruitier, so you definitely need it. But also know that your pasta will be salty once cooked, and you can always add more later.)
Let the mixture sit while you do the rest — or ideally, even longer. My mom would prepare this part in the afternoon and leave the bowl on the counter for hours, covered with a kitchen towel, an aromatic reminder of the meal to come each time I passed through the kitchen. The tomatoes leech out their juices, which then mingle with the olive oil. The garlic mellows and infuses the liquid.
Over time, the sauce becomes greater than the sum of its parts, which are already pretty great.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut 4 ounces of salted fresh mozzarella into pieces roughly the same size as your tomatoes. (I like using the little balls because they’re already similar in shape and size, but a large chunk will work just fine.) Add them to the bowl and give it another stir.
When your water is boiling, add 4 ounces of pasta to the pot. Feel free to choose your own adventure with the shape. Some might argue that a chunky sauce demands a stout pasta, like rigatoni, but I think this dish can accommodate anything. Spaghetti is nostalgic for me; I like to stab the bits with my fork and then twirl the long strands around it.
Once done, drain the pasta. It won’t get further cooked in a sauce on the stove, so you want to make sure it’s perfectly done (and there’s no reason to save the pasta water). Dump the hot pasta directly onto the tomato mixture and toss, toss, toss. The mozzarella pieces will melt just a bit, their cut edges transforming into cloud-like formations. The tomatoes will warm through.
Add a big fistful of arugula. I love arugula in pasta in general — and here, I appreciate that it makes this feel more like a well-rounded, one-dish meal. (No side salad necessary.) Taste for salt and add a bit more if you’d like.
Plate your pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan and red pepper flakes. That’s it. This dish is so dead simple it almost doesn’t need a recipe, but I wrote it out for you anyway. If nothing else, consider it a reminder to go to the farmers market this weekend.
Emma Wartzman is the kitchen and dining writer at New York Magazine’s the Strategist.
Additional photo illustration credits: plate photo by Emma Wartzman
