Fusilli with roasted tomatoes and hot pepper (Fusilli col sugo dei pomodoro forno)

Pasta is comfort food meant to satisfy the soul. Its world is wide, with over 300 shapes, innumerable sauces, and baked recipes. Each shape is designed to serve a purpose and yet look delicious. Here is a simple sauce that rocks.

 This sauce depends on seasonal tomatoes, which are bright and fruit-forward. Baking the tomatoes caramelizes their sugars. The hint of chilli adds a lovely pop. I use Italian Calabrina chilli powder or a lovely mild pigment d'Esplette from the French Basque region. Both are flavourful without drowning out the roasted tomatoes.

Marcella Hazan is considered by many to be the doyen of Italian food and is credited with bringing traditional Italian cuisine to the US. She has published numerous cookbooks, and I have quite a few of them. I have no idea how I started collecting her cookbooks, but each one, including this one, is a gem. Her amazing story of becoming one of the best-loved Italian chefs in America is detailed in a New Yorker article here. This volume is loaded with non-fussy traditional recipes that stay true to the core of light Italian cooking. The dishes transport you back to Italy. This book is a compendium of classic recipes, one that belongs on every chef's kitchen counter and needs to be pulled out to curb that craving for great and healthy Italian cuisine.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1 lb tomatoes, cut in half horizontally

1 lb cherry tomatoes

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon pepper

8-10 garlic cloves, minced

A generous drizzle of olive oil

3 + 1 tablespoon parsley, minced

Calabrian chilli powder or Piment d'espelette

1 tablespoon oil

Parmesan cheese, to grate

Parsley, minced, to garnish

1/2 lb fusilli pasta

8 cups water

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon pasta

Heat the oven to 400° F.

Mix the tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, and parsley well. Arrange the cut tomatoes cut side up on a lined baking tray. Scatter the cherry tomatoes around them, packing them well. Bake for 75 minutes until the tomatoes are very soft and charred in spots. Remove and cool.

When cool, peel the tomatoes; the skin should slip off quite easily. Chop the tomatoes finely, retaining the juices. Scrape the charred bits off the baking tray and all the juices.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in water with salt and oil until it is done, according to the package instructions, minus 1 minute for al dante. Drain and set aside.

When you are ready to serve the pasta, heat the oil in a wide bowl. Add the chilli and fry for 10 seconds, then add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pasta and toss well.

Serve immediately in bowls garnished with parmesan and parsley.