Fresh Tomatoes & Pasta

John has been the predominant fixture in our kitchen since we were married last year. Although I share the same love for cooking, it is rare that I am preparing the entire meal. My plan, use things we have around the house incorporating fresh garden ingredients. Inspiration was taken from a recipe in Italian Cooking magazine. I used a variety of tomatoes, but recommend romas for their firm texture. As usual I played around with the spices, adding Oregano since our plant needed a haircut. I also doubled the red pepper flakes, but do not recommend doing so if you do not have a palate for spicy foods. The addition of bacon was from a forethought of panchetta that led me to the left-over Bishers thick cut bacon we had in the fridge. (See John's post on Bisher's Meat.) If you choose to omit the pork fat add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the mix before serving. We paired the meal with a La Boca Malbec. Enjoy!


Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes

1 lb pasta, I used thick spaghetti
6 roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 c. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
Anchovy Paste to taste
A Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
1/2 c. toasted bread crumbs
Parmesan Cheese

Optional:
2 pieces of thick cut bacon chopped and cooked
Fresh Oregano a few pinches

Cook Pasta to package instructions. john & I prefer al dente especially when we finish pasta in a sauce. Saute garlic and olive oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic brown. Add Tomatoes, red pepper and anchovy paste. Cook for 5-6 minutes. When the pasta is almost done add 1 c. of the cooking liquid to your tomato mixture. Drain Pasta and add to tomato mixture. Cook until almost all of the liquid is gone. I like to toss the tomatoes throughout. Finish by adding parsley, bread crumbs, bacon & cheese. Toss to evenly coat.

Add mixture to serving dish and sprinkle with Parmesan, reserved parsley & oregano if desired.

Anchovy Paste...avoid the ewwwww
Have you learned to embrace the flavor of anchovies? For many people the actual anchovy fillets are too much to tolerate. There is typically an ewwww factor. A less visual and longer lasting alternative is anchovy paste. Packaged in a tube it is like concentrated tomato paste in texture. Saltier than canned fillets, paste may require you to adjust the salt in a recipe. Anchovy flavor is not easily replaced and omitting it from a recipe will through off the balance.