Rigatoni with slow cooked tomato sauce, balsamic and pecorino
Serves 2 for main course or 4 for starter
An authentic dish that is true a celebration of Italian taste and simplicity. This tomato-based recipe works brilliantly with Mazzetti’s Etichetta Oro Balsamic Vinegar to give delicious sweet flavours throughout.
250g Rigatoni (Penne also works)
500ml tomato passata
1 clove garlic (finely sliced)
75g unsalted butter
8 basil leaves
3tbsp Mazzetti Etichetta Bianca Balsamic Vinegar
75g freshly grated Pecorino Stagonata or Parmesan cheese
Method
- In a hot, large non-stick frying pan melt 50g of the butter and soften the sliced garlic for one minute on a medium heat, being careful not to brown the garlic or the butter. Add half of the basil leaves then add the Mazzetti balsamic vinegar.
- Reduce for one minute. Add the tomato passata and reduce on a low heat by half. This will take about 20 minutes. Season to your taste.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta for two minutes less than the time on the packet. Take out the pasta with a slotted spoon and add to the tomato sauce in the frying pan, that has been put back on to a medium heat. Add a ladle or two of the pasta water and cook for a further two minutes. The pasta will absorb the sauce, and the starch from the pasta will thicken it too.
- Toss or stir a few times and add another 25g butter and half of the grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese. Mix well so the cheese is absorbed into the sauce.
- Serve in hot bowls with a few basil leaves on top, the rest of the Pecorino or Parmesan and a drizzle of Mazzetti balsamic vinegar. Finish with freshly ground black pepper.
