Pasta allo Scarpariello
(PAH-stah AHL-lo skar-pah-RYEL-lo)
L'Arte della Conserva: The Late August Tomato Ritual
This isn't a delicate restaurant dish or a Sunday meat-sauce project demanding six hours and a butcher's ransom; it is weeknight survival food, born from nineteenth-century shoemakers repurposing Sunday's ragù with bartered cheese, or simply stretching leftover tomato passata and stray nubs of Pecorino Romano. When the hot pan hisses, the real secret inside a twelve-inch aluminum skillet isn't a rare ingredient; it's the mantecatura—the biomechanical magic of vigorously tossing pasta, starchy water, and a mountain of cheese strictly off the heat. Save the good wine for the weekend and boil the water.
Ingredients
- paccheri or spaghetti pasta1 lb
- cherry or grape tomatoes1 lb
- Parmigiano-Reggiano1/3 cup
- Pecorino Romano1/3 cup
- extra virgin olive oil1/4 cup
- garlic3 large cloves
- red pepper flakes1/2 tsp
- fresh sweet basil1 large bunch
- kosher salt1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Infuse the olive oil.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large, wide skillet or braiser over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic cloves and red pepper flakes, letting them sizzle gently until the garlic is fragrant and just beginning to turn golden around the edges (about 2 to 3 minutes). Remove the garlic cloves and discard them so they do not burn.
- 02
Blister the tomatoes.
Increase the heat to medium-high and carefully add the halved cherry tomatoes to the infused oil along with a pinch of salt. Sauté for about 10 to 12 minutes, tossing occasionally. You want the tomatoes to soften, release their juices, and collapse into a slightly sweet, rustic sauce.
- 03
Cook the pasta.
While the tomatoes are blistering, drop your pasta into the boiling water. Cook it strictly according to the package directions for al dente, or even one minute shy, as it will finish cooking in the pan.
- 04
Marry the pasta and sauce.
Before draining the pasta, use a mug to scoop out about 1 cup of the cloudy, starchy pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the skillet with the tomatoes. Add a generous splash of the reserved pasta water and toss together over medium heat for about 1 minute until the sauce begins to coat the noodles.
- 05
Perform the mantecatura off the heat.
Turn off the heat and pull the skillet entirely off the hot burner. Add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, the Pecorino Romano, and a handful of torn basil leaves. Toss the pasta vigorously and continuously. If the sauce seems too thick, add another small splash of hot pasta water. The mechanical motion of tossing off the heat, combined with the starch in the water, will melt the cheese into a luxurious, creamy emulsion without clumping into rubbery strings.
- 06
Garnish and serve immediately.
Transfer to a warmed serving platter, top with a few more fresh basil leaves and a final dusting of Pecorino, and serve the moment it hits the table.
Notes
Forget the chicken.
In American enclaves, Chicken Scarpariello is a beloved dish of bone-in chicken, sausage, and pickled cherry peppers. While the names share an etymology honoring the 'shoemaker style' of throwing whatever is available into a pan, they share absolutely no culinary DNA. True Neapolitan Scarpariello is entirely about tomatoes and cheese.
From Cook Italian in America.