No-Cook Tomato Pasta

Some pasta sauces need hours on the hob. This one does not touch it.

Fresh tomatoes are grated and drained before being mixed with garlic and a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil. The hot pasta, butter and a splash of pasta water bring everything together into a glossy sauce.

It is simple, fresh and exactly what good tomatoes are for.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 100g pasta — Abigail used rigatoni
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 small garlic clove, or ½ a large clove
• 4–5 tbsp DRZZL Table extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• ½ tbsp cold butter
• A handful of basil leaves
• Parmesan, for grating
• Salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper

Method

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and grate them, cut-side down, using the coarse side of a box grater. Grate them directly into a sieve set over a bowl, or grate them onto a chopping board before transferring the tomato pulp to the sieve.

Allow the excess tomato water to drain away. Stirring the pulp and pressing it gently against the sieve will speed this up.

Transfer the thick tomato pulp to a bowl and finely grate in the garlic. Add 4–5 tablespoons of DRZZL Table, season generously with salt and freshly cracked black pepper, then mix well.

Once the pasta is cooked, reserve some of its cooking water before draining. Return the pasta to the pot and add the tomato mixture, cold butter and a small splash of pasta water.

Stir vigorously until the olive oil, butter and pasta water emulsify into a glossy sauce that coats the pasta.

If the sauce remains too loose, return the pot to the heat briefly and continue stirring. Add more pasta water gradually if required until the sauce clings to the pasta.

Serve with torn basil, plenty of grated Parmesan and another generous pour of DRZZL Table.

Cook properly.