The World’s #1 Collection of Cookbook Recipes Online
Italian
classic-tomato-spaghetti

Photo by: David Loftus

For more information on Jamie's Food Revolution, visit his author page by clicking the "View Profile" link to the right.

This pasta sauce takes minutes to cook. What’s great about this recipe for beginner cooks is that once you’ve done it a few times you can add other simple ingredients to your basic tomato sauce to completely transform it. Check out the end of the recipe, where I’ve given you some ideas to get started.

Yield : Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 fresh red chile
  • A small bunch of fresh basil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pound dried spaghetti
  • Olive oil
  • 1 x 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
  • 4 ounces Parmesan cheese

Directions

To prepare your pasta

Peel and finely slice the garlic. Finely slice your chile (halve and seed it first if you don’t want the sauce too hot). Pick the basil leaves off the stalks and put to one side. Finely chop the stalks.

To cook your pasta

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, add the spaghetti and cook according to the package instructions. Meanwhile, put a large saucepan on a medium heat and add 2 good lugs of olive oil. Add the garlic, chile, and basil stalks and give them a stir. When the garlic begins to brown slightly, add most of the basil leaves and the canned tomatoes. Turn the heat up high and stir for a minute. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the spaghetti in a colander then transfer it to the pan of sauce and stir well. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

Notes

These can be added to your tomato sauce when it’s finished. Just stir in and warm through:

Add a handful of baby spinach leaves to the sauce at the same time you add the pasta—when the leaves have wilted remove from the heat and serve with some crumbled goat’s cheese on top.

A few handfuls of cooked shrimp and a handful of chopped arugula with the juice of ½ a lemon.

A can of tuna drained and flaked into the sauce with ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, some black olives and the juice of ½ a lemon.

A handful of fresh or frozen peas and fava beans


© 2009 Jamie Oliver

Note from Cookstr's Editors

A lug of olive oil is equivalent to 1 tablespoon.

 

Nutritional Information

Nutrients per serving

This recipe serves 6, and includes 1/2 teaspoon of added salt.

412 kcal
24 % daily value
15 % daily value
3 % daily value
356 mg
55 mg
18 g
4 g
3 g
60 g
17 mg
491 mg
4 g
11 g
16 % daily value

Explore Cookbooks on Cookstr

rice Rice
by Bonnie Tandy Leblang, Joanne Lamb Hayes
julias-kitchen-wisdom Julia's Kitchen Wisdom
by Julia Child
jacques-torres-a-year-in-chocolate-80-recipes-for-holidays-and-special-occasions Jacques Torres' A Year in C...
by Judith Choate, Jacques Torres
125-best-vegan-recipes 125 Best Vegan Recipes
by Maxine Effenson Chuck, Beth Gurney
cooking-for-friends Cooking for Friends
by Gordon Ramsay
the-provence-cookbook The Provence Cookbook
by Patricia Wells
everyday-chinese-cooking Everyday Chinese Cooking
by Katie Chin, Leeann Chin
the-new-basics-cookbook The New Basics Cookbook
by Sheila Lukins, Julee Rosso
seriously-simple-easy-recipes-for-creative-cooks Seriously Simple: Easy Reci...
by Diane Rossen Worthington
the-lee-bros-southern-cookbook-stories-and-recipes-for-southerners-and-would-be-southerners The Lee Bros. Southern Cook...
by Ted Lee, Matt Lee
the-sweet-life The Sweet Life
by Kate Zuckerman
lidias-italy Lidia's Italy
by Lidia Bastianich
sunday-suppers-at-lucques Sunday Suppers at Lucques
by Suzanne Goin
the-sushi-experience The Sushi Experience
by Hiroko Shimbo
the-country-cooking-of-ireland The Country Cooking of Ireland
by Colman Andrews
the-deen-bros-take-it-easy-quick-and-affordable-meals-the-whole-family-will-love The Deen Bros. Take It Easy...
by Bobby Deen, Jamie Deen
spice Spice
by Ana Sortun
flavor Flavor
by Rocco DiSpirito
cook-with-jamie Cook with Jamie
by Jamie Oliver
down-home-with-the-neelys-a-southern-family-cookbook Down Home with the Neelys: ...
by Gina Neely, Pat Neely
allergy-free-desserts Allergy-Free Desserts
by Elizabeth Gordon
mexican-everyday Mexican Everyday
by Rick Bayless
the-gourmet-cookbook The Gourmet Cookbook
by Ruth Reichl
urban-italian-simple-recipes-and-true-stories-from-a-life-in-food Urban Italian: Simple Recip...
by Andrew Carmellini
chez-panisse-fruit Chez Panisse Fruit
by Alice Waters
le-bernardin-cookbook Le Bernardin Cookbook
by Eric Ripert, Maguy Le Coze
hot-sour-salty-sweet Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet
by Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
american-vegan-kitchen American Vegan Kitchen
by Tamasin Noyes
young-and-hungry-more-than-100-recipes-for-cooking-fresh-and-affordable-food-for-everyone Young and Hungry: More Than...
by Dave Lieberman
a-new-way-to-cook A New Way to Cook
by Sally Schneider
new-american-table New American Table
by Marcus Samuelsson
secrets-of-slow-cooking-creating-extraordinary-food-with-your-slow-cooker Secrets of Slow Cooking: Cr...
by Liana Krissoff
usa-cookbook U.S.A. Cookbook
by Sheila Lukins
baked-explorations Baked Explorations
by Matt Lewis
david-burkes-new-american-classics David Burke's New American ...
by David Burke, Judith Choate
mexican-made-easy-everyday-ingredients-extraordinary-flavor Mexican Made Easy: Everyday...
by Marcela Valladolid
amor-y-tacos Amor Y Tacos
by Deborah Schneider
daves-dinners-a-fresh-approach-to-home-cooked-meals Dave's Dinners: A Fresh App...
by Dave Lieberman
ice-creams-and-sorbets-cool-recipes Ice Creams and Sorbets: Coo...
by Lou Seibert Pappas
living-raw-food Living Raw Food
by Sarma Melngailis
the-south-american-table-the-flavor-and-soul-of-authentic-home-cooking-from-patagonia-to-rio-de-janeiro-with-450-recipes The South American Table: T...
by Maria Baez Kijac
salmon-a-cookbook Salmon: A Cookbook
by Diane Morgan
125-best-cupcake-recipes 125 Best Cupcake Recipes
by Julie Hasson
arthur-schwartzs-new-york-city-food Arthur Schwartz's New York ...
by Arthur Schwartz
a-bakers-odyssey A Baker's Odyssey
by Greg Patent
complete-book-of-indian-cooking-350-recipes-from-the-regions-of-india Complete Book of Indian Coo...
by Suneeta Vaswani
bistro-cooking-at-home-more-than-150-classic-and-contemporary-dishes Bistro Cooking at Home: Mor...
by Gordon Hamersley
baked-new-frontiers-in-baking Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
by Matt Lewis, Renato Poliafito
big-fat-cookies Big Fat Cookies
by Elinor Klivans
good-to-the-grain Good to the Grain
by Kim Boyce
martin-yans-china Martin Yan's China
by Martin Yan
nigella-express Nigella Express
by Nigella Lawson
the-bread-bible The Bread Bible
by Rose Levy Beranbaum
how-to-be-a-domestic-goddess How to be a Domestic Goddess
by Nigella Lawson
ham-an-obsession-with-the-hindquarter Ham: An Obsession with the ...
by Bruce Weinstein, Mark Scarbrough
hudson-valley-mediterranean-the-gigi-good-food-cookbook Hudson Valley Mediterranean...
by Laura Pensiero
raos-cookbook Rao's Cookbook
by Frank Pellegrino
rosas-new-mexican-table-friendly-recipes-for-festive-meals Rosa's New Mexican Table: F...
by Roberto Santibanez
the-splendid-tables-how-to-eat-weekends The Splendid Table's How to...
by Sally Swift, Lynne Rosetto Kasper
unforgettable-desserts Unforgettable Desserts
by Dede Wilson
american-masala American Masala
by Suvir Saran
lucindas-authentic-jamaican-kitchen Lucinda's Authentic Jamaica...
by Lucinda Scala Quinn
desserts-4-today Desserts 4 Today
by Abby Dodge
the-whole-beast-nose-to-tail-eating The Whole Beast: Nose to Ta...
by Fergus Henderson
the-mozza-cookbook The Mozza Cookbook
by Nancy Silverton
mom-a-licious Mom-a-Licious
by Domenica Catelli
cooking-with-too-hot-tamales Cooking with Too Hot Tamales
by Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger
david-rosengarten-entertains-fabulous-parties-for-food-lovers David Rosengarten Entertain...
by David Rosengarten
fresh-from-the-market Fresh from the Market
by Laurent Tourondel
food-to-live-by Food to Live By
by Myra Goodman
Already a member? Click here to Log In
close

Sign up to Cookstr!

  • Receive a free, handpicked selection of recipes in your inbox weekly
  • Save, share and comment on your favorite recipes in My Cookstr
  • Get updates on new Cookstr features and tools







By signing up you accept the
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Spinner
New to Cookstr? Click here to Sign Up
close


Forgot your password? Click here