Smoky Tomato Pasta
A pantry pasta built on slow-blistered tomatoes, smoked paprika and a silky, emulsified finish.
The trick is patience in one place only: letting the tomatoes properly collapse and catch before anything else goes in. Smoked paprika gives it a depth that tastes like it simmered for an hour, and a knob of butter at the end makes the sauce cling.
Watch
Video coming soon
How to make Smoky Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
Quantities scale automatically. Cooking times stay the same.
Sauce
To finish
Equipment
- Large pot
- Wide sauté pan
Method
-
1
Soften the aromatics
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium. Cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 6-7 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic for 1 minute more.
-
2
Caramelise the paste
Stir in the tomato paste, smoked paprika and chilli flakes and cook for 2 full minutes, until the paste darkens to a brick red and smells sweet rather than raw. This is where the depth comes from.
-
3
Add the tomatoes
Tip in the crushed tomatoes and the sugar, season, and simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce thickens and the oil separates at the edges.
-
4
Cook the pasta
Meanwhile boil the pasta in well-salted water until 2 minutes short of the package time. Reserve a large mug of pasta water before draining.
-
5
Marry them
Add the drained pasta to the sauce with a splash of pasta water and toss over medium heat for 2 minutes so the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce.
-
6
Emulsify and serve
Off the heat, beat in the butter and parmesan with more pasta water until the sauce turns glossy and coats each tube. Top with basil.
Cook’s tips
- Cooking the tomato paste until it darkens is the single highest-impact step; two minutes of attention pays for itself.
- Buy whole plum tomatoes and crush them yourself. Pre-crushed tins are usually made from lower-grade fruit.
- Finishing the pasta in the sauce, not the water, is what makes restaurant pasta taste different from home pasta.
Variations
- Add a scoop of ricotta or a splash of cream for a rosy, richer sauce.
- Fry chorizo or pancetta at the start and build the sauce in the rendered fat.
- Stir a tin of drained cannellini beans through at the end for protein.
Storage and make-ahead
The sauce keeps 5 days refrigerated and freezes for 3 months, so it is worth doubling. Store sauce and pasta separately if you can.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 524 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 16 g |
| Carbohydrates | 78 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Fibre | 6 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Sodium | 610 mg |
Nutrition is estimated from ingredient averages and will vary with brands and portioning.
