Naples is a famous city in Italy. Here is my version of the simple but famous Napolese spaghetti, pronounced as “spaghetti napolian”, which is spaghetti in tomato sauce. Serve with a generous sprinkle of your favourite cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 cups boiled spaghetti
- 500 gm ripe tomatoes – (blanched), put in hot water for 10 minutes, peeled & chopped, 4 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 onion – sliced
- 3 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp maida (plain flour)
- 4 flakes garlic – crushed, 1 tej patta (bay leaf)
- several parsley or coriander stalks
- ¾ cup water
- 1¼ tsp salt, or to taste, ½ tsp pepper, 1 tsp sugar, or to taste
- 50-100 gm cheese for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Heat 2 tbsp butter in a heavy pan over moderate heat. Saute the onion slices without browning, so keep the heat low.
- Add the garlic and maida. Stir for a few seconds on low heat.
- Add tej patta and parsley or coriander stalks.
- Add water, stirring continuously. Boil.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and cook gently for 15-20 minutes. Add salt, pepper and sugar.
- Remove the bay leaf and green stalks. Rub the sauce through a strainer.
- Boil the smooth sauce for about 5-7 minutes, until really thick, stirring occasionally and more frequently towards the end. The sauce should be rich red colour. Keep aside.
- Add 1 tbsp butter to finish.
- Cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water until cooked but still a little firm. Drain thoroughly. Toss the spaghetti in 1 tbsp butter with a sprinkle of salt.
- To serve, reheat sauce and toss the spaghetti to coat it thoroughly. It is important that the sauce should coat the spaghetti without too much falling on it. Serve sprinkled generously with grated cheese.