Spaghetti with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

I really love the bold roasted flavors of some of the Mexican food I cook. I like to apply those techniques to non Mexican recipes as well. It makes for interesting twists on classic dishes. This recipe is for a simple pasta sauce using roasted garlic, fire roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions. I bet it would be good over anything you would use a red sauce for.

Ingredients:

• ½ small onion. Sliced ¼ thick
• 3 cloves of garlic still in their papery skin
• 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes 
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp smoked Paprika
• 1 8 oz box of spaghetti.
• 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil.
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Parmesan cheese. 

Equipment:

• Large pot for cooking the pasta. 
• Small skillet for roasting the garlic.
• Large skillet for cooking the sauce with lid.
• Colander to drain the pasta.
• Large spoon. 
• Chef’s knife.
• Blender
  
  
  
  

  

  Roasting the garlic

  

  Caramelized onions

  
  
  
  

Directions:

1. Put a small skillet over medium heat, roast the unpeeled garlic until it is soft and blackened in spots. About 10 to 15 minutes or so. Let cool a bit before peeling. 
2. While the garlic is roasting, Set the pot on the stove over high heat to start boiling the water per the instructions on whatever pasta you are using. 
3. Put a large skillet over just barley medium-high heat and film with olive oil. Add the onions to the pan and stir to coat in the oil. Then let them sit for a min or two without stirring. Watch for them to start to brown around the edges but do not let them burn. Stir a couple more times to make sure they are all starting to brown. With the lid in hand, add about an ⅛ cup of water to the pan and immediately put the lid on the skillet. It will spatter loudly. Turn the heat down to medium low. Once the splattering has subsided, remove the lid and deglaze the pan with what water is left. The goal is to get all the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan up and to coat the onions. Put the lid back on and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are all a nice golden brown. 
4. While the onions are cooking. Add the tomato sauce, roasted garlic, basil, the smoked paprika and about ½ tsp of salt to a blender jar and blend until smooth. 
5. Add the fire roasted tomatoes to the sauce but do not blend. 
6. Return the skillet with the onions to medium heat and add the sauce. Once it starts to simmer turn down the heat a bit and cook the sauce down until it thickens a bit. 
7. Add the balsamic vinegar to the sauce.
8. While the sauce is cooking your water should be at a boil. Generously salt the water and cook the pasta to just barely done. It will be soft but still have some chew to it. Ladle about a cup of the water the pasta was cooking in, into the sauce. Turn the heat back up to medium high. 
9. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Stir it in well to finish cooking. Try not to let the sauce come to a hard boil. 
10. Remove the sauce from the heat. I like to stir in some of the Parmesan at this point and sprinkle on some crushed red pepper. Taste to see if it needs more salt. 
11. Serve topping with more Parmesan and some chopped parsley. (I forgot to add it in the picture above)

This spaghetti pairs nicely with some rustic garlic bread.

-Patrick