Pasta with Fresh Mint and Tomato — The Recipe That Stole My Heart

Ingredienti

• 400 g fresh or dried pasta (penne or fusilli)
• 800 g ripe red tomatoes
• 1 piece white onion
• 1 piece carrot
• 20 g fresh mint
• 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• quanto basta sea salt
• quanto basta black pepper

Preparazione

1. Slice the onion into thin half-moons and dice the carrot into tiny cubes — these two will form the bed for the sauce, giving natural sweetness without being felt as chunks in your mouth. Crush two garlic cloves with the flat of your knife blade and set aside.
2. Pour the oil into a wide skillet over medium heat — when you smell it lightly perfume (about 2 minutes), add the onion and carrot together with the crushed garlic. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often until the onion becomes translucent and sweet: this is the moment when the natural sugars come out and the pan smells like home.
3. Cut the tomatoes into pieces — if they're red and ripe you can even halve them and let them fall into the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high and let the sauce simmer gently for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll know it's ready when the oil floats on the red surface and the aroma grabs you by the throat: that's how you know the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has become one thing.
4. While the sauce cooks, bring abundant water to a boil in a large pot — salt it like the sea, as our elders said. When the water boils, plunge the pasta in and cook it al dente according to the time on the box, then drain while reserving a cup of cooking water. Pull out 15-20 fresh mint leaves and crumple them slightly between your hands to awaken their aromas.
5. Turn off the heat under the sauce and add the pasta directly to the pan along with a ladleful of cooking water — the starchy salted water binds the sauce to the pasta, never forget that. Stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes with the heat off, add the crumpled mint, taste and adjust salt and pepper. The mint must stay fresh and uncooked, so add it at the very last second: this is the secret that makes all the difference.