Pasta Pomodoro

Yes, I bought my first running magazine for the recipes.  This amazing—and easy—Pomodoro (tomato) sauce is the base for all of Chef Joe Bastianich's pasta dishes which I will also be posting.  Yet the sauce with simply the pasta is marvelous. 

The Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 16-ounce cans of peeled, whole Italian plum tomatoes, such as San Marzano
1 teaspoon Sicilian oregano (optional)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium. Add garlic and saute until golden brown, about three minutes. While garlic browns, pour tomatoes into a bowl. Squeeze with your hands to break them up. Add tomatoes and their juice to the saucepan. Add oregano (if using), salt, and pepper. Simmer on low for 45 minutes. Add a little water if needed to keep sauce from becoming too thick (it should be bright red; if it turns brick red, it's too thick). To make oreganata, simmer sauce with sprigs of fresh oregano. Make arrabiata by adding red pepper flakes to taste. Makes six one-cup servings.

The Pasta

Simmer pomodoro on low. Add one pound of pasta to a pot of boiling, salted water. Two minutes before it's cooked, remove pasta from water and add to sauce. Cook until tender, allowing pasta to absorb sauce. Add a little pasta water if needed to keep sauce liquid. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian cheese, such as Grana Padano. Garnish with basil. Serves six.