The One Tomato Sauce
By Yotam Ottolenghi · 50 minutes · 4 servings
A recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi (adapted from “Ottolenghi Simple Too” by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ten Speed Press, 2026)) from NYT Cooking: its ingredients and steps as published. The introduction, tips, photos and reader notes are on the original.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 5 minutes
- 🍳 Cook time: 45 minutes
- ⏱️ Total time: 50 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 heads of garlic
- 2 pounds tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch slices (or halved if using cherry tomatoes)
- A few sprigs of hardy fresh herbs (such as oregano, thyme or rosemary, or a combination)
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
- Fine sea salt and black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- ¾ cup fragrant soft herbs (such as basil, mint or tarragon), roughly torn
- 12 ounces fusilli lunghi (or other long pasta), cooked until al dente
- Grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)
Directions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Using a large sharp knife, cut the top ½ inch off the garlic heads, exposing the cloves. Put the garlic, tomatoes, hardy herbs, oil, sugar (if using), 1 ¾ teaspoons of salt and lots of pepper in a roasting pan or rimmed sheet pan. Spread the tomatoes out into a single layer and roast for 45 to 55 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and lightly charred. Remove from the oven, add the vinegar and let cool a bit.
- Once slightly cooled, remove and discard the hardy herbs (or at least the stalks). Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their papery skin and use a fork to mash them into the oil, then add the soft herbs and give everything a good mix to incorporate.
- Toss through the pasta, followed by a generous sprinkle of Parmesan (if using), and serve.
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