Pasta with Arugula Pesto and Confit Cherry Tomatoes

La storia di questo piatto

This is a home-kitchen dish in the spirit of Campania, not an ancient recipe: peppery wild rocket meets the slow, honeyed sweetness of cherry tomatoes. Ripe summer tomatoes and good olive oil are the old language of the South, and here they sit beside the green bite of rocket, pine nuts and pecorino romano.

Ingredienti

• 400 g Fresh egg pasta (tagliatelle or linguine)
• 150 g Fresh wild arugula
• 500 g Cherry tomatoes
• 2 cloves Fresh garlic (1 clove for the tomatoes, 1 small for the pesto)
• 220 ml Extra virgin olive oil (about 70 ml for the tomatoes, 100 ml for the pesto, the rest raw)
• 50 g Toasted pine nuts
• 80 g Grated Pecorino Romano DOP (50 g in the pesto, 30 g to finish)
• 0.5 piece Lemon (only the grated zest and 1 teaspoon of juice)
• 6 g Fine sea salt (4 g in the pesto, 2 g for the tomatoes)
• 30 g Coarse salt for the cooking water
• 4 liters Water for the pasta
• 3 g Black peppercorns to grind
• 2 g Sugar (optional: only if the tomatoes are underripe; omit with ripe summer tomatoes)

Preparazione

1. Prepare the confit cherry tomatoes with patience: halve the cherry tomatoes and arrange them in a baking dish, cut side up. Season with about 70 ml of oil, 1 garlic clove crushed with the palm of your hand, and 2 g of fine salt. If the tomatoes are fully ripe, as in midsummer, add no sugar; use a pinch (about 2 g) only if they are underripe and acidic. Bake at 120°C for 90-100 minutes: they are ready when the skins wrinkle, the tomatoes are shriveled, soft and almost caramelized at the edges but not burnt; test by piercing one with a toothpick, which should slide in without resistance. Once cooked, pour the flavored oil left in the dish into a small jar and save it: you will use it to dress the pasta.
2. While the tomatoes cook gently in the oven, make the pesto: clean the wild arugula, removing the toughest stems, then wash and dry it very thoroughly, since excess water would dilute everything. In a mortar, crush 1 small raw garlic clove (with the germ removed) with 4 g of fine salt, then add the pine nuts and pound until reduced to fine crumbs, then incorporate 50 g of Pecorino Romano and finally the arugula, a handful at a time, with circular motions until you obtain a thick, velvety cream. To prevent the arugula from oxidizing, work with cold ingredients and without rushing; alternatively, use a pulse blender with well-chilled ingredients.
3. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and incorporate about 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil, pouring it in two or three additions and mixing with a wooden spoon until you obtain a glossy, cohesive cream. Taste and adjust the salt only if needed, then brighten with the grated zest of half a lemon and one teaspoon of juice, no more: it should provide only a hint of freshness, without masking the arugula or thinning the pesto.
4. Bring 4 liters of water to a boil in a large pot, salt it with 30 g of coarse salt, it should taste of the sea, and when it is truly boiling, drop in the fresh pasta and stir immediately to prevent sticking. Cook for 2-3 minutes, tasting: fresh egg pasta cooks quickly and should remain al dente, never soft. Before draining, reserve at least a cup of cooking water, then lift the pasta with a spider or drain it quickly, without shaking it too dry.
5. In a large bowl (or in the off-heat skillet), loosen the pesto with 3-4 tablespoons of warm cooking water, stirring gently: the starch in the water binds everything together. Add the drained pasta and toss off the heat with light movements, incorporating a couple of spoonfuls of the oil reserved from the confit tomatoes: every strand of pasta should be coated in the bright, velvety pesto. Never heat the pesto over the flame, or the arugula would cook and turn grey.
6. Arrange the pasta on plates generously, letting the pesto show, then spoon the still-warm confit tomatoes on top: their warmth awakens the aromas. Grate the remaining 30 g of Pecorino Romano without overdoing it, so as not to mask the delicate flavor of the arugula, then finish with a thread of raw extra virgin olive oil and a generous grind of freshly ground black pepper.