Pasta Alla Scarpariello _ Cherry Tomato Basil Pasta Recipe

Scapariello, a dish born in Naples which means shoemaker's pasta, this isn't just a recipe, it's a story of resourcefulness, comfort and bold southern Italian flavour. The name Scapariello or shoemaker's pasta comes from the working class neighbourhoods of Naples. One theory says that shoemakers or scapari made it using leftover ingredients bought as payment for their shoe repairs, another theory says that it was just a quick meal in between jobs that they could throw together using day old pasta as well as a few pantry staples. At its heart, it's fresh tomato sauce loaded with pecorino romano and just enough chilli for a gentle kick, a dish for immediate comfort, eaten hot, often with bread to mop up the sauce. Now let's bring this Neapolitan classic to life, keeping it authentic with a few touches to make it shine in your own kitchen. This right here is everything we're going to need plus the addition of salt and pepper and maybe a little bit of sugar if it's needed. The key to scapariello is speed so have everything prepped before you start, slice four cloves of garlic thin for even cooking, half the tomatoes to help break them down quickly, this is 500g or 1.1lbs, then grate 100g or 3.5oz of pecorino romano so it melts into the sauce instead of clumping and if you don't want to use pecorino, you can use parmesan cheese instead. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, salt generously, it doesn't need to taste like ocean water but it should be quite salty, add your pasta, I'm using 400g or 14oz of spaghetti and cook until just shy of al dente, roughly 1 minute less than the packet instructions and just remember to reserve a cup of that pasta water before draining. While the pasta cooks or after you've cooked the pasta, whatever you're comfortable with, heat 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat, add in the sliced garlic and 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes, stir gently for about 30-40 seconds, just enough to infuse the oil without browning the garlic and this smells absolutely incredible. Add in the cherry tomatoes and season with a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper, you can add a touch of sugar as well if your tomatoes are acidic, the heat will soften them and release their juices creating the base of our sauce, stir and press them gently for about 5-6 minutes or until they're broken down and the pan is still over a medium heat. Transfer the drained pasta straight into the pan with the tomatoes, add a splash of that pasta water and then start tossing vigorously to coat each strand and make sure to take your time with this step, making sure that those tomatoes are completely coated in the pasta. Now turn this off the heat and add in your pecorino romano in stages or parmesan cheese and toss after each addition. We turn this off the heat because we want the cheese to melt and emulsify into the sauce, we don't want it to become all stringy and we're going to adjust the consistency by adding in splashes of pasta water every now and again and that remaining pecorino romano cheese, just completely folding it all through until everything is completely incorporated. As the cheese melts into the starchy water and oil it will create a silky creamy sauce without the addition of any cream and double check with any remaining seasoning, adjust with a little bit of salt, a little bit of sugar and maybe a little bit more cracked black pepper. Add in some fresh basil leaves just before serving, the fragrance is bright peppery and unmistakably southern Italian, you don't have to add them in and then fold them through you can just add them on fresh right at the end but adding them in and folding them through the pasta just adds that really nice fresh fragrance. We'll get four servings out of this, two if you're really hungry, stack these up nice and high and make sure you get a lot of that tomato that may be sitting at the bottom of the pan straight on top of that pasta, we can finish it off with a little bit more fresh basil, some more pecorino romano or parmesan cheese freshly grated over the top and a touch of cracked black pepper. So there it is, pasta alla scapariello, born from humble beginnings, now one of Naples most beloved quick dishes, simple ingredients, it looks beautiful and smells fantastic, there is only one thing left to do and that is of course, we can then dig in. Absolutely incredible, so delicious. That right there is the perfect balanced meal and if it's good enough for shoemakers in Naples it's good enough for us.