Raw Tomato Sauce for Pasta

Ingredients

• 4 large beefsteak tomatoes
• 4 very large cloves of garlic
• 6 large basil leaves
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 grindings of black pepper
• 2/3 cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. bucatini or perciatelli (choose whole-grain or gluten free pasta, or serve with spiralized zucchini if you like)

Directions

1. Core and chop tomatoes coarsely, between 1/4- and 1/2-inch thick. (Peel them or don’t, as you like.) Put the tomato and all its juices into a large bowl. Peel garlic and smash with chef’s knife if you want to remove it before serving, or mince two of the cloves if you want to leave it in for more intense garlic taste. Add garlic to tomatoes.
2. Cut three of the basil leaves into fine ribbons and add to tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Stir in olive oil. Cover and let sit at room temperature for eight to 10 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving 1/3 cup of cooking water in the pot. Return pasta to pot and toss with reserved liquid. Ladle into soup bowls. Remove smashed garlic from tomatoes, and serve sauce over pasta. Sliver remaining basil and scatter on top. Some will want a flurry of freshly grated Parmesan; purists will not.
4. Serves four as a main course, six as a first course.

This recipe was excerpted from Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess by Gael Greene and originally appeared in “Courage, In the Raw” which was published in the October 2006 issue of Experience Life magazine.