Buon Appetito!

I love pasta, that's no secret. I go all melty for real pasta, for the most basic sauce, for a traditional recipe. Creamy carbonara makes me cringe but this simple recipe for Spaghetti With Rosemary fills me with joy. Spotted on the fantastic seriouseats.com and taken from The Silver Spoon, that monumental tome to Italian food which I have not cooked out of as much as I'd have liked, but it makes me happier knowing that it's just there.

It concentrates on just a little tomato and rosemary. Sure, you could add a few slivers of prosciutto, toss in a handful of spinach, crumble over pretty white feta, but it's not necessary. There's beauty in simplicity. It's a dish like this that transports me to Italy. And there's a genius step that may go unnoticed - the addition of a flour slurry that not as much thickens the beautifully-reduced sauce, but coats the sauce to the spaghetti threads instead of puddling at the bottom of the plate. It's a dish that compliments Mario Batali's luscious description on how to sauce pasta.

Spaghetti with Rosemary, serves 4 adapted from seriouseats, originally from The Silver Spoon
Ingredients
2 Ts olive oil
2 Ts fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 red chili, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 Ts flour
1 Ts milk
1 Ts water

Heat the oil in a frypan. Toss in the rosemary, garlic, and chili. Cook until fragrant, about two minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes. In a bowl whisk together the flour, water and milk. When done simmering, season the tomato sauce with salt, and then pour in the flour slurry. Stir through and then cook for 5 minutes. Toss cooked spaghetti in with the rosemary sauce and stir to coat. If preferred, serve with parmesan.