Crushed tomato sauce ‘The Food Chain’ Channel 4

Excitedly I was recently featured on a programme called ‘The Food Chain’ Channel 4 where the show explained to viewers the journey of fresh produce, from producer, to distributer to consumer. I was featured cooking with sweet tomatoes, and made a delicious cucina povera style sauce.

I used sweet cherry tomatoes from the ‘Isle of Wight’ and paired them with the pungent tomato vines and rinds from my favourite cheese, fresh Parmesan. Cooked down to create one simple yet incredibly flavour packed sauce. I have been inundated with emails and messages with regards to the recipe I made. If I’m honest I change the recipe every time I make it, I very rarely follow recipes and tend to cook on a whim. I sometimes add stock, sometimes a little wine, but my favourite is when the sauce is stripped back to basics and a ladle of two of pasta water is added to help emulsify the sauce.

I served the sauce with handmade cicatelli pasta from the region of Molise. A classic shape using semolina (semola) pasta dough that has been dented with either one, two, or three finger tips. This is the most popular fresh pasta that I make by hand, purely because it is very forgiving when coated in sauce.

Here is the link for the show…‘The Food Chain’

Crushed tomato sauce

Serves: 6

• 600g cavatelli or cicatelli pasta
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot, peeled, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
• 800g cherry tomatoes on the vine, halved
• 1 small chilli, finely sliced (optional)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 Parmesan rinds
• The tomato vines
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 tsp dried Oregano or marjoram
• Small bunch fresh basil, torn
• 80g Parmesan, grated

1. Add the olive oil to a shallow sauté pan.
2. Add the shallot and garlic, bring the pan to a medium heat and cook for 3 minutes. Take care to not burn the garlic.
3. Tumble in the cherry tomatoes, baby plum tomatoes would also work well and of course any tomato colour goes too. Cook the tomatoes down for 5 minutes, gently squashing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Add the chilli and tomato puree. Stir well.
5. Place the Parmesan rinds into the pan along with the tomato vines and season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the oregano and half of the freshly torn basil.
7. Cook for 20 minutes. Stir intermittently and check for seasoning.
8. Place a large pan of water onto boil for the pasta. Once boiling, salt well and cook the pasta until aldente.
9. Drain the pasta reserving 2 ladles of the starchy pasta water. Add the pasta water to the tomato sauce and stir.
10. Tumble the pasta into the sauce and stir well. Add the grated Parmesan and the remaining basil. Stir and serve in bowls with a glass of your favourite red wine.