Penne Napoletana with Stracciatella and Basil
The simplest sauce done properly: one tin of tomatoes cooked low for three hours with onion and garlic, finished with creamy stracciatella and basil.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 3 hr 10 min
- Total
- 3 hr 20 min
- Serves
- 2
- Level
- Easy
People are always surprised that this is just a tin of tomatoes, an onion and a clove of garlic. The difference is time. Three hours on the lowest heat turns sharp tinned tomato into something sweet, deep and almost jammy.
Cold stracciatella melts into the hot pasta at the table. Burrata works too. Tear it open and spoon out the creamy middle.
Ingredients
Sugo
To finish
Method
Sugo
- Warm the olive oil in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 10 minutes until soft and sweet, without colouring.
- Add the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomatoes and basil stalks. Rinse the tin with 100 ml water and add that too.
- Crush the tomatoes with a spoon, bring to a bare simmer, then turn the heat to its lowest setting. Cook, partly covered, for 3 hours, stirring every 20–30 minutes and adding a splash of water if it catches.
- Remove the basil stalks. Blend smooth or leave rustic, and season with salt.
To finish
- Cook the pasta in well-salted water until 1 minute short of al dente.
- Transfer the pasta to the sugo with a splash of pasta water and toss over high heat for a minute until the sauce clings.
- Plate, then tear over the stracciatella, add basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.
Chef’s notes
- Double or triple the sugo. It freezes perfectly and is the base for half the dishes in my kitchen.
- A heat diffuser under the pot stops it catching during the long cook.
Questions about this recipe
Why cook tomato sauce for 3 hours?
Long, gentle cooking evaporates water, mellows the acidity and caramelises the natural sugars, giving a sweeter, deeper sauce from very few ingredients.
Can I use burrata instead of stracciatella?
Yes. Burrata is a mozzarella shell filled with stracciatella, so tear it open and use the creamy centre and the outside.
