Pasta al Filetto di Pomodoro for Tomato Killers

I know that I’m becoming a tomato snob. I realized that when my husband asked me to pick the tomatoes and save them in the fridge. My answer was: “I’m sorry, but I don’t put tomatoes in the refrigerator.”

After that sentence, we were laughing because we both knew that I was kind of joking and kind of serious and I’m even researching about how to grow tomatoes during the winter.

Since the beginning of June, I have been picking all our tomatoes just before eating them. So I told him: “we’re going to have pasta al filetto di pomodoro and I’ll pick them right before.”

Today was the day. I picked more than five pounds of the most beautiful ripe red tomatoes just from one plant. One single tomato weighed a little bit more than one pound! I couldn’t believe it! For somebody that is a tomato killer that means a lot.

So, happy as I was, I boiled the water to peel my tomatoes and in the mean time picked fresh basil and sliced the garlic to make a dish that I simply adore. While cooking, I thought about my loving friend Gloria Majella, who more than 15 years ago  introduced to me this simple way to eat pasta with some of my favorite ingredients.

While living in Caracas, every Saturday I used to religiously buy filetto di pomodoro sauce at Via Appia Express. But know that I assume I'm a tomato snob, no way! The trick is peeling and seeding the tomatoes. To peel them, make a cross incision with a paring knife all the way around, put them in boiling water for 30-45 seconds, pick them one by one and let them cool down in a colander. Then, you can peel them like a banana. Cut every tomato in 4 wedges and seed them in a fine colander (you may want to use the juice for other purposes.)

Once again, the simpler the better. Buon appetito!

Pasta al filetto di pomodoro | Ingredients for 4 portions
5 pounds (2.5 kilos) of ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded and sliced
10 garlic cloves
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of fresh basil leaves
Coarse sea salt
1 package of macaroni
Parmesan cheese shredded (I used parmigiano reggiano)

Cook the pasta al dente in boiling water, strain it and let some fresh water run on top to stop cooking. Strain it again. In a saucepan add the oil and cook the garlic on medium heat until it start to get golden, around 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato slices and cook them for 1-2 minutes. Add the basil leaves and salt to taste. Add the pasta to the pan and stir. Serve in a pasta dish with some parmesan.