Mostaccioli with Tomato Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
| Tomato Paste | 3/4 Cup (16 tbs) | |
| Extra virgin olive oil | 3/4 Cup (16 tbs) | |
| 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon pine nuts | ||
| Sea salt | 1/4 Teaspoon | |
| 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes | ||
| 2 tablespoons tomato juice, preferably organic | ||
| 2 plump garlic cloves, trimmed, peeled, and roughly chopped | ||
| 1 pound dried mostaccioli, penne, or rigatoni | ||
| Freshly grated Pecorino Romano | ||
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Combine the tomato paste, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, cayenne, tomato juice, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Run the motor until you have a smooth puree. Set aside at room temperature while you cook the pasta. (You can cover and refrigerate the pesto, but be sure to bring it to room temperature before boiling the pasta.)
3. Generously salt the boiling water and drop in the mostaccioli. Cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Transfer the mostaccioli to a heated serving bowl. Add enough of the pesto to coat the noodles generously. Add a little pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, if it seems too thick. Sprinkle with cheese and pass more Pecorino Romano and any remaining pesto at the table.
2. Combine the tomato paste, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, cayenne, tomato juice, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Run the motor until you have a smooth puree. Set aside at room temperature while you cook the pasta. (You can cover and refrigerate the pesto, but be sure to bring it to room temperature before boiling the pasta.)
3. Generously salt the boiling water and drop in the mostaccioli. Cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Transfer the mostaccioli to a heated serving bowl. Add enough of the pesto to coat the noodles generously. Add a little pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, if it seems too thick. Sprinkle with cheese and pass more Pecorino Romano and any remaining pesto at the table.
Chef
