Serves: 4

The origin of spaghetti is yet another episode of debate. Some say its Italian, some owe its origin to the Chinese, whose noodles seem to have inspired the Italians and some say it was the Arabs who made vermicelli even before spaghetti or noodles were even heard of.  Marinara, on the other hand, is clearly Italian although there is a theory that it is a spin-off from tomato based sauces made by the Arabs.

Anyway, all I know is that A (my son) could eat pasta & marinara by the pounds. B & C (my husband & I) would be more than willing to follow suit!!  It is a soul-satisfying meal, be it for lunch or dinner, for all ages.

I hate to use canned tomatoes. I’d NEVER spend money on any canned fruit or vegetable.  I, once, tried the more expensive true San Marzano canned tomatoes for this purpose. I find no difference between the taste of fresh plum tomatoes and the former. So, I prefer the fresh route as usual.

Why plum tomatoes? Because plum tomatoes boil down to a thick paste like consistency which is what you need for many sauces including Marinara. Also, the canned tomato paste or the paste sold in tubes is made ONLY from plum tomatoes.  The juicier vine-ripened tomatoes could be used for all other purposes.

You could blanch the tomatoes to peel off the skin – the purists’ way:

Score an X on the base of the tomatoes (not the stem part).  Have a large tray of iced water ready. Boil enough water in a large stockpot, add the scored tomatoes and reduce the heat to medium.  Close the pot and let the tomatoes stay in there for about 2-3 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the hot water using a slotted spoon and put them IMMEDIATELY in the iced water. This will loosen up the skin to be peeled off very easily. After all the tomatoes cool down, core them, scoop out the seeds and puree them as needed.

But many times, I skip this step. I just the core the tomatoes, chop them up roughly and blend until pureed and then strain out the seeds and the skin.

For the Marinara:

2 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic*, pureed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 pounds plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped basil
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper + more pepper for seasoning
1 tablespoon fine sea salt or more as needed

Core the tomatoes. Puree 1 pound of tomatoes and strain to remove the seeds and skin.  Roughly puree the rest of the tomatoes so you could still see lots of small chunks of tomatoes.

Preheat a Dutch oven or a large wok.  Add the olive oil to the pan and when the oil is hot, add the garlic puree and pepper . When fragrant, add the onions and a hefty pinch of salt.  Saute until the onions turn translucent. Now, pour in the pureed tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer until the sauce is thick yet of flowing consistency.  Just a few minutes before the sauce is done, add the chopped basil and parsley. Cook for a couple more minutes. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper. Add more basil-parsley (if needed).

If you prefer a smooth sauce, you could puree the onions just before adding it to the pan. Puree all of the tomatoes finely and strain.

For the Spaghetti:

1 pound dry spaghetti
2 cloves of garlic*, pureed
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper (or a few turns of a pepper mill if you have one)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup grated Parmesan + more for garnish
1/4 cup of table salt

Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil in a large stockpot. Just before the water goes to the rolling boil, sprinkle the table salt. When the water is on a rolling boil and the salt is dissolved, add the spaghetti and cook stirring every minute until pasta is al dente (toothsome texture), about 9 minutes.

Drain using a colander.

While the pasta is just a few minutes away from cooking, preheat a skillet. Add olive oil and when the oil is hot (not smoking), add pepper and garlic puree. Saute for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the cooked spaghetti and toss until evenly coated. Season with salt & pepper as needed.

Finish tossing with the grated cheese. Place some spaghetti on the plate in a mound and ladle the Marinara on top and garnish with more Parmesan shavings.

*For the garlic puree, I use a Garlic Press where I can put in a couple of garlic cloves at a time, with the peel on!  If you do not have one, peel the garlic and mince it finely.