Piennolo Tomato Spaghetti Recipe - Great Italian Chefs

Giuseppe D'Aquino makes the most of Piennolo tomatoes in this simple tomato sauce recipe, served with spaghetti, burrata, basil and lemon. A small cherry tomato from the region surrounding Mount Vesuvius, Piennolo tomatoes have a distinct flavour from the mineral-rich volcanic soil and as such have PDO status. If you cannot find Piennolo tomatoes, San Marzano, ripe cherry or pomodoro tomatoes could be used as an alternative.

Ingredients

print recipe

shopping List

Metric

Imperial

Piennolo tomato sauce

250g of tomatoes, preferably Piennolo
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
20ml of anchovy sauce
1 bunch of basil
extra virgin olive oil

To serve

220g of spaghetti
100g of burrata
1/2 lemon, zest only

print recipe

shopping List

Blender

Place a pan over a moderate-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the chopped garlic and the stems from the basil – reserving the leaves for serving – and fry for a few minutes until softened

extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 bunch of basil, stems only

Add the tomatoes to the pan and turn off the heat, allowing the residual heat from the pan to soften and cook the tomatoes

250g of tomatoes, preferably Piennolo

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the anchovy sauce and spaghetti. Cook for 8–10 minutes until al dente

20ml of anchovy sauce
220g of spaghetti

Meanwhile, reserve 4 of the softened tomatoes to serve and transfer the rest of the tomatoes to a blender. Blitz to create a thick tomato sauce, then pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean pan and gently heat through. Divide a third of the sauce between the serving bowls and return the pan to the heat

Drain the spaghetti, reserving the cooking water, and add the pasta to the pan with the remaining tomato sauce. Pour over enough of the cooking water to coat the pasta and cook gently for 2 minutes until fully combined

Place a nest of spaghetti on top of the sauce in each bowl and top with a piece of burrata, the reserved tomatoes and basil leaves. Finish with grated lemon zest to serve

100g of burrata
1/2 lemon, zest only

Discover more:

Share recipe

Giuseppe D'Aquino

By giving up on a promising career as an engineer and following his dream of becoming a chef, Giuseppe D'Aquino took a huge gamble. One Michelin star later, that gamble seems to have paid off.