Recipe for Da Vittorio-style Paccheri Pasta

This pasta recipe may be simple, but its high-quality ingredients and time-tested techniques set it apart from the rest. Accessible for budding chefs as well as veterans in the kitchen, this dish will delight the entire family.

The star couple of Italian cuisine, Oliver Piras and Alessandra Del Favero met in 2012 while working at Da Vittorio restaurant. In the kitchen as well as in daily life, Alessandra and Oliver share a taste for authenticity and conviviality. This delicious recipe perfectly demonstrates how they juxtapose simplicity and generosity.

• Sauce
• 1/2 clove garlic
• 110g extra virgin olive oil (about 100ml)
• 800g fresh San Marzano tomatoes
• 140g fresh Piccadilly cherry tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Sugar
• 150g fresh Datterini tomatoes

• 320g paccheri pasta
• 150g aged (18 months) Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• Red pepper flakes
  
  
  

Sauce
In a frying pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil. Add the peeled and finely diced San Marzano tomatoes, then the Piccadilly tomatoes. Salt, pepper and sugar the mixture to taste. After simmering for 20–30 minutes, blend it with a hand mixer, pass it through a sieve and pour into a saucepan. Add the Datterini tomatoes

Pasta
While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta for 15–17 minutes in a large pot of salted water. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the saucepan. Toss gently.

To serve
Top the pasta with Parmesan, basil, a little olive oil and red pepper flakes to taste.