This is the last recipe of this chapter and a treatise would be needed here and not because this dish is complicated but because it is the most disarming simplicity and as such it deserves top quality ingredients. For romantics this dish has a very beautiful story of poverty and respect. Tradition say that this dish is linked to the Spanish Quarters in Naples, where there were many shoemakers, in Neapolitan called “scarpar”. Monday was their closing day and the wives prepared this pasta dish with the sauce left over from Sunday and added to it what the poor customers gave to the shoemaker in exchange for repaired or new shoes, mostly cheeses, because there is no money. Hence the name of “scarpariello”. Even today this dish is very popular and widely consumed but the ingredients have changed as the leftover sauce is no longer used but fresh tomatoes or tins but still of excellent quality and I must say that where I come from we are spoiled for chosen because both for fresh and preserved we have excellent products such as corbarino or datterino. For pasta we have that marvel that is Gragnano pasta and then grated Parmesan as if it were snowing. One last piece of advice I feel I have to give you: if you make this dish in summer, use fresh tomatoes simply cut in half, if instead we are in winter then use those in a jar, but I recommend you do not skimp on quality because those who start well are half done…
Ingredients for 4 people
320 gr of spaghetti
600 gr of fresh cherry tomatoes or 2 cans of cherry tomatoes in tin
1 clove of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Chili
150 gr of grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
Pot with plenty of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Salt. Heat plenty of oil in a pan, add the whole garlic clove and chilli. Brown and add the fresh tomatoes or those in tin. Salt and add the sugar that is needed to remove the natural acidity of the tomatoes (you will not need it if you have used corbarino or datterino tomatoes because they are very sweet). Cook for 12/15 minutes and add plenty of basil. Drop the pasta and strain it al dente, this time you don’t need to keep the glass of water, a few tablespoons will be more than enough. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix over moderate heat. Turn off and add the grated Parmesan, stirring until everything becomes a cream that wraps your spaghetti. Pay attention to the watering because at this point you will no longer be able to resist and you will want to taste this simple but very good creation with all of yourself.