Spaghetti Marinara

Ok, so this recipe is totally taken from Anthony Bourdain's TV show but it is the best spaghetti I have ever made or eaten! It tastes completely different than the canned variety, very light and airy...delicious! The only negative is the TIME it takes to make! Unless you have a friend helping you expect to spend about 1 hour on this baby.

• About 20 ripe plum tomatoes
• About 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about half a cup)
• 6 to 8 fresh basil leaves well washed and dried, stacked and rolled into a cylinder and cut thinly crosswise into a chiffonade (HINT:  this is the only reason why I have a basil bush growing in my backyard, if you do not have cheap fresh basil available you can use the dry. It just won't have the pow of basil flavor)
• 1 lb. spaghetti, either high-quality dry or homemade

 

To peel the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water nearby. Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato. Ease about 5 tomatoes in the pot and cook. Let boil for about 15 seconds (or until the skin looks like it is going to come off) and then promptly move them to the waiting ice water, do this with the remaining tomatoes. Pull off the skin with the tip of a paring knife. If the skin sticks, put the tomato back into the water. Cut the tomatoes in half and use your finger to flick out the seeds. I also cut out any bits that are yellow and the top part where the stem was as they are fibrous and won't cook down well.
 Infused oil: combine 1/4 cup of olive oil, fresh basil, garlic, and crushed red pepper in a small sauce pan. Heat on lowest temp possible. You are infusing the oil with the flavors of the garlic, red pepper, and basil.

 

To cook the tomatoes: In a wide pan, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Season generously with salt (about 1/2-3/4 T) as this will help draw out the water of the tomatoes.
Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes to soften. Then, using a potato masher, chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the tomatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened. Once finished cooking, strain the remaining oil from the sauce pan and slowly add it to the tomatoes until the sauce turns an orangish red color. This is really up to your own tastes, I usually ad about 1/8 of a cup. Refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze it for longer storage.

 

To serve: Bring a large pot of amply salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente. Reserve a little of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta and butter to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat, gently tossing the pasta and the sauce together with a couple of wooden spoons and a lot of exaggerated movement (you can even shake the pan) until the pasta is just tender and the sauce, if any oil had separated from it, now looks cohesive (If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta liquid to adjust it). Take the pan off the heat and toss more fresh basil and cheese with the pasta in the same manner and serve immediately.

Note that the tossing of the pasta introduces air to the dish and makes it much lighter and tastier than the jarred version.

This recipe originally taken from this website with my tweaks:
http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/anthony-bourdain/articles/spaghetti-with-fresh-tomato-sauce-and-basil