Opting to follow the crowds instead of the guidebooks, my husband and I ended up in a packed working-class lunch spot in Naples a few years ago. After a glance around, we decided to have what everyone else was having: rigatoni in tomato sauce topped with a dollop of snow-white ricotta. Eyeing the other diners, we did what they did, stirring in the fluffy ricotta before diving in. The cheese made the tomato sauce so mellow and creamy. If you’re preparing pasta with tomato sauce in the weeks ahead, please try this technique. If your sauce also has eggplant, zucchini or sweet peppers, so much the better.
Rigatoni with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Fresh Ricotta
At Da Tonino, the modest Naples trattoria where Doug and I had this memorable dish, the pasta was followed by sauteed broccoli rabe and a bowl of cool, crisp grapes for dessert. I don’t think you could improve on that menu. From Four Seasons Pasta by Janet Fletcher (Chronicle Books).
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup minced Italian parsley
Pinch of hot pepper flakes
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, grated (see Note below)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 to ¾ cup whole-milk ricotta, at room temperature
1 pound rigatoni
Fresh basil for garnish, optional
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the garlic, parsley and hot pepper flakes and cook briefly to release the fragrance of the seasonings. Add the tomatoes, season to taste with salt, and bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sauce is thick and flavorful, about 20 minutes. If it threatens to cook dry before the flavors have melded, add a little water and continue simmering. If your sauce is too tart, a pinch of baking soda will mellow it.
In a bowl, whisk the ricotta until smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until about 1 minute shy of al dente. Remove 1 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot over moderately low heat. Add the tomato sauce and cook for about 1 minute to allow the pasta to absorb some of the flavor of the sauce. Moisten with a little of the reserved pasta water as needed.
Divide the pasta among warm bowls. Top each portion with a dollop of ricotta and, if desired, some fresh basil. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 to 6
Note: To grate tomatoes, cut them in half lengthwise and grate on the large holes of a box grater until only the skin is left in your hand.