Rigatoni in Tomato Sauce in a Parmesan Basket with homemade tomato paste – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Pasta Serving Basket

1. 8
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

   OvenBaking panParchment paper
2. 9
   Sprinkle 1 oz of the parmesan into a thin, even round 18 cm across, and make 4 rounds (two in each pan) this way.

   Baking pan
3. 10
   Bake 6 up to 7 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the edges are light golden.

   OvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
4. 11
   Take out, wait 30 seconds and lift each round with a spatula. Lay it right away over an upturned small bowl and press gently so it takes the shape of a basket. After 2 minutes it hardens and can be lifted off.

   Silicone spatulaBowl

For the Tomato sauce

1. 12
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium-low heat.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
2. 13
   Add the onion and fry 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 14
   Add the garlic and chili and fry 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 15
   Add the tomato paste and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   Stove
5. 16
   Add the tomato paste and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

For the Cooked pasta

1. 17
   Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water (4¼ cups of water and a heaping teaspoon of salt for every 4 oz of pasta), following the package directions (taste about 2 minutes early), until al dente.

   StovePot

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
2. 18
   Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water before draining.

   LadleorMeasuring cup

   💡The cooking water is starchy: a spoonful or two binds the sauce to the pasta or the gnocchi and makes it glossy.
3. 19
   Drain.

   Colander

To assemble

1. 20
   Transfer the pasta straight into the sauce with some of the cooking water and cook together 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter, until the sauce is glossy and clings to the pasta.

   Stove
2. 21
   Set each basket on a plate, fill with pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and lay a chive stem on top.