Pasta Pomadoro with Bacon, Olives and Capers

For those who were asking for the recipe, finally here it is. This dish is best cooked when tomatoes are in season (specially the native oval ones)and are cheap and very ripe. just remember this ratio, 1 kilo or tomatoes per kilo of pasta.

Basic Tomato Sauce:

1 kilo of ripe tomatoes quartered
1 star anise
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp of mascovado sugar or brown sugar
1 whole garlic chopped.
balsamic vinegar
juice of half a lemon
basil leaves

1. In a casserole, drizzle some olive oil and heat it up to smoking point. Add tomatoes after and stir once. cover and leave for the next ten minutes.

2. After ten minutes, stir the tomatoes again and add the garlic, star anise, oregano, sugar and lemon. Stir and check if your tomatoes are starting to break down and cover it again and leave for another 10 mins in low heat, then after remove cover and let it reduce for 5 mins or until chunky consistency is achieved.

3. add the rest of the ingredients and try to mash with a potato masher or the back of the ladle. adjust taste with salt and lots of pepper. the recipe can be adjusted depending on the tomatoes. Some tomatoes have higher acidity than others so you could adjust it by adding more sugar. you can also do this ahead of time if kept frozen and would usually last for 2-3days.

After tasting this recipe, I'm sure, you'll rather have this than the tin ones. hehe.

Level Up.

1 basic tomato sauce recipe
1 small bottle of black olives and capers, rough chopped.
400 grams of smoked bacon, roughly sliced
basil leaves
parmesan or old keso de bola (specially the ones since christmas that were just left inside the fridge and long been forgotten... they do taste like parmesan if aged...)
1 whole garlic, chopped
2 medium red onions, chopped
olive oil.

1. Saute garlic and onions till aromatic (add chili flakes if you want it spicy)

2. Add the bacon and render some fat till slightly brown and then add the olives and capers.

3. Add the tomato sauce till it simmers.

4. Add pasta (cooked according to package instructions) and stir. Add torn Basil leaves and top with parmesan cheese. You can add fresh cherry tomatoes too if you want for a pop of fresh tomato taste or even anchovies while you're on step one, for a Putanesca cheat.

serves 6-7 people or 4 really hungry people. haha.