This is my dear husband’s most favorite pasta sauce.  Unfortunately, it can only be made when plum tomatoes are ripe and deeply sweet and meaty.  In reality, this happens about 3 times a season although I keep at it, trying to make a batch with a taste reaching toward the really good one of recent memory.  It is very, very simple to do and, like all simple dishes, its deliciousness depends solely on the quality of the tomatoes used.

First you cover the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil.  Then, microplane about 6 fresh cloves of garlic (or more or less if you like) into the oil.  Place over low heat and just allow the garlic purée to soften.  As soon as it begins to even look like it might color slightly, remove the pan from the heat.

Peel about 3 pounds of rich, ripe plum tomatoes.  Core and remove the seeds – the latter is optional if you don’t mind a seedy sauce by all means skip it.  Cut the tomatoes into pieces and then place them, a few at a time, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Process until just chunky.  Do not purée.

Pour the tomatoes into the warm garlic oil.  Season with salt and pepper and let rest for at least a couple of hours.

About an hour before ready to serve, chop some fresh basil and stir it into the tomatoes.  Taste and, if necessary, add additional salt and pepper.

Cook dried spaghettini according to manufacturer’s directions for al dente.  Drain very well and place in a bowl.  Add just enough sauce to nicely coat the pasta.  When serving, add a couple of spoonfuls of sauce to the top of each serving.  I like to grate some cheese on top but Steve thinks it detracts from the simplicity of the tomatoes, basil, and pasta.  He usually drizzles a little bit of extra virgin olive oil over his.