Heat a pan over medium heat. Cut half the tomatoes in half and leave half whole. Add 25g butter and 25g olive oil to the pan along with some chopped garlic, salt and sugar. At the same time bring a pot of salted water to the boil for cooking your pasta.
Once boiling, add your pasta and cook until al dente. If you are using fresh homemade pasta hold off on this step as fresh pasta cooks a lot quicker than dried pasta.
Gently cook the tomatoes and garlic until the tomatoes burst and the garlic is soft, sweet and fragrant. At this point, the smell will be intoxicating and you will start to salivate profusely. Sorry.
If any tomatoes have not burst, just give them a gentle nudge down until they just pop. We want to keep some bursts of juicy tomato while also making a tomato sauce.
While the sauce is gently going. Chop some parsley ready to add right in the end. Tear some fresh mozzarella into bite-size pieces for adding last. I prefer torn mozzarella to cut as it looks more natural and eats a lot nicer.
When your pasta is nice and al dente(or softer if you prefer more cooked pasta). Drain and reserve about 100g of the cooking liquid. Add this cooking liquid to the tomato pan sauce.
Bring to the boil and add the rest of the butter and olive oil. This is a tomato sauce straight from the Gods. Otherwise known as a pan emulsion. This step grabs all those lovely tasty get-in-my-mouth flavours from gently pan roasting the tomatoes and binds them together in a luxuriously buttery tomatoey sauce ready to cover your pasta.
When all that R rated saucy business is done. Add your pasta and gently toss it together with the chopped parsley.
Test your pasta for seasoning and add some salt and freshly ground black pepper as you please.
Add to a pasta plate and add the torn fresh mozzarella along with a glug of good extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
This recipe could easily be turned into a pasta salad. Just cool down the sauce and add to any chilled pasta of your choice
If you are using fresh pasta use 200g instead of 100g dried
Not freezer friendly
Feel free to add a protein like chicken or turkey
Can be made vegan by using egg-free pasta and removing the cheese and butter
Make it gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta
For best results use flat pasta shapes like tagliatelle, pappardelle, or fettuccine. Tube shapes are more suitable for saucier pasta recipes.
Make sure to keep enough pasta water in order to make your pan emulsion and adjust the consistency if needed
Pairs amazing with Well chilled wooded Chardonay or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc