detour. My kitchen

Pasta · FIRST EDITION

Blistered tomato & garlic spaghetti

Sweet tomatoes, golden garlic and glossy spaghetti. A short ingredient list, a very useful little trick.

20 minutes · Serves 2

Serving inspiration
Serving inspiration · stock photograph

Your familiar tomato pasta, made by letting whole cherry tomatoes blister and burst in a hot pan. Their juices become the sauce.

Here’s how.

  1. 1

    Start the pasta

    Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add half the measured salt and cook the spaghetti according to its packet. Before draining, save a mug of cooking water.

  2. 2

    Let the tomatoes blister

    While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a wide frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the dry tomatoes in one layer. Cook for 6–8 minutes, shaking occasionally, until their skins blister and some begin to split. Work in batches for larger portions.

  3. 3

    Make a sauce in the pan

    Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and remaining salt and stir for 1 minute. Gently press the tomatoes with the back of a spoon, taking care with the hot juices. Add a splash of pasta water.

  4. 4

    Toss until glossy

    Add the drained spaghetti and toss over low heat for a minute. Add pasta water a spoonful at a time until the sauce coats the pasta. Take off the heat and stir in the basil and pepper.

Give the tomatoes room and a little time before stirring. A crowded pan will steam them instead of blistering them.

First edition recipe draft — not yet kitchen-tested. Cooking times are estimates.