It started with a text. My friend wrote, “bumper crop of tomatoes! you want?” I quickly responded “yes” and within hours I was biking across town with bags of tomatoes hanging from my handlebars.
I know you’re probably thinking how delightfully summery that is. How it conjures images of Italy. How there I’d be replaced by a deeply tanned, lithe girl dressed in a vibrant flowy skirt so impossibly long that the gears would threaten to eat the hem with each push of the pedal. And, how she’d be attraversando the piazza with a basket of picture-perfect tomatoes.
But that was not me. I was zigzagging across Hollywood after sundown, whizzing along back streets on my single-speed bike, and clad in a reflective ski helmet that logs more time on my bike than it does on the slopes. And rather than crossing a piazza, I was doing my best to avoid potholes that were more or less the size of my small apartment. Needless to say, I arrived home to find the tomatoes were far the worse for the wear. To salvage them before the fruit flies took over, I embraced their squished state by charring them until they blistered and tossing them with pasta.
Now, when I think char, I can’t help think of the eastern Mediterranean. I cooked there last year and was intrigued how food would be charred within an inch of its life and I saw it over and over again be it almonds for garnishes, eggplant for dip, or onions for a stew. Sure, I lightly toast food to amp up the crunch factor and nutty flavor, but taking it to that extra charred state lends a smoky almost bitter note to things. I’m now hooked and have come to desire a hint of bitterness in my savory dishes. Like sour and tart, bitterness is one of those underutilized flavors that adds layers of complexity and depth. So, I took those toasted memories and came up with this charred tomato pasta. One bite and it was clear these under-appreciated tomatoes found their moment in the spotlight.
Charred Tomato Pasta Recipe
Makes 2 to 4 servings
At first glance, this seems like a typical tomato pasta sauce but three things make it anything but: the smoky char on the tomatoes, the kick from the Aleppo pepper, and the sweet-sour note of the pomegranate molasses. This handful of ingredients combines for a lot of intriguing flavor. Aleppo pepper comes from the Eastern Mediterranean and has a flavor slightly reminiscent of Ancho chiles. Click on the link below to order it, look for it at a high-end grocery store, or use Ancho chile powder or a mixture of 3 parts paprika and 1 part cayenne instead. Start with 1/2 tsp and add more as desired. Pomegranate molasses is a sweet-tart reduction of pomegranate juice and is a highly versatile ingredient worth exploring. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even make your own. Because you’re using a sweet-tart syrup to up the sweet-tartness of the tomatoes, be sure to taste your tomatoes before cooking. If they are on the sour side, you may need to add a pinch of sugar to the sauce. If they’re overly sweet, you might want to add a dash more pomegranate molasses.
Ingredients
8 ounces spaghetti, tagliarini, or perciatelli pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, sliced paper thin
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
1 pound whole cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and thoroughly dried
1 tablespoon pomegrantate molasses
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh basil or Italian parsley leaves, thinly sliced
Instructions
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain pasta.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a heavy-bottomed large skillet over high heat until wisps of smoke come off the pan. Add garlic, Aleppo pepper, and thyme, and cook for a few seconds until just fragrant. Add tomatoes, stir to coat in oil, then cook, swirling occasionally, until tomatoes charred and about to burst, about 4 minutes. Immediately remove from heat, add drained pasta, pomegranate molasses, 1/4 cup of the pasta water, stir to coat, taste, and add salt or sugar as desired. Add remaining pasta water, as needed, so that the sauce delicately coats each strand of pasta.
Stir in remaining 1 tbsp of the oil, walnuts, and basil or parsley and toss to coat the pasta. Taste, add more salt and Aleppo pepper as desired and serve immediately.
