Recipes Dinner Pasta and Noodle Dishes Pasta Spaghetti Pomodoro 5.0 (1) Delfina’s spaghetti pomodoro turns a handful of simple ingredients into a silky tomato sauce. By Craig Stoll Craig Stoll Craig Stoll is the chef and co-owner of Delfina, the acclaimed San Francisco trattoria he opened with his wife, Annie, in 1998. Known for combining soulful regional Italian cooking with exceptional Northern California ingredients, Stoll was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2001 and won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Pacific in 2008. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on September 22, 2026 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Credit: Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Active Time: 40 mins Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Jump to recipe Removing the seeds from the tomatoes ensures a smooth, cohesive sauce that coats the pasta evenly without feeling chunky or watery.Simmering the tomatoes until reduced concentrates their sweetness and gives the sauce enough body to cling to the spaghetti.Finishing the pasta directly in the sauce allows the noodles to absorb flavor while the starchy cooking water helps everything emulsify. A great spaghetti pomodoro is all about restraint. With little more than tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil, and pasta, there’s nowhere for shortcuts to hide. Delfina’s version shows how much thoughtful technique can transform simple, everyday ingredients. The pomodoro is bright and tomato-forward, with mellow garlic and a generous amount of olive oil that adds body and rounds out the acidity. Can I use canned crushed tomatoes instead of whole peeled tomatoes? Yes, but the texture will be different. Whole peeled tomatoes give you more control over the final consistency. If using crushed tomatoes, watch the sauce closely as it simmers — it may reduce faster. 5 Canned Tomatoes Chefs Always Keep in Their Pantries What does bronze-cut pasta mean? Bronze-cut pasta is extruded through bronze dies, which give the noodles a slightly rough surface. That added texture helps the pasta release more starch into the cooking water and gives the tomato sauce more surface area to cling to. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Don’t let the garlic brown. Cooking it gently in olive oil softens its bite and lets it melt into the sauce without turning bitter. Reserve more pasta water than you think you will need, since the spaghetti continues absorbing liquid as it finishes cooking in the sauce. Add the reserved pasta water gradually in the final minutes of cooking so the sauce stays glossy without becoming diluted. Suggested pairing Pair this pasta with a zesty, low-tannin Italian red, such as Vietti Barbera d’Asti Trevìe. This recipe was developed by Craig Stoll; the text was written by Craig Ruff. Keep Screen Awake Ingredients 1/2x 1x 2x Oops! Something went wrong. Our team is working on it. 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole plum tomatoes (such as Bianco DiNapoli) 3 cups water 5 garlic cloves, peeled, halved lengthwise, and inner shoot removed 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 3/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, divided 1 pound spaghetti (preferably bronze-cut) Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving Directions Pour tomatoes with their juices into a large bowl. One at a time, tear open a tomato, and discard seeds. Break tomatoes into large pieces using your hands, and transfer tomato pieces to a second large bowl. Pour tomato juices and 3 cups water through a fine wire-mesh strainer into bowl with tomatoes; discard remaining seeds. Smash garlic cloves on a cutting board using the flat side of a chef’s knife. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt; rub salt into garlic using flat side of knife until a paste forms. Add garlic and oil to a large pot over medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is softened and beginning to dissolve into oil without browning, about 10 minutes. Add tomato pieces and tomato liquid to pot; sprinkle with black pepper, red pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high; reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and reduced by a little more than half (about 5 cups total), 45 to 50 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed. Remove from heat. Tear all but a few basil leaves in half (about 1/2 cup); stir into sauce in pot. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta, and cook for 5 minutes. (Pasta won’t be completely cooked.) Drain, reserving at least 4 cups cooking liquid; wipe pot clean. Ladle 4 cups of sauce into clean pot; heat over medium until starting to simmer. (Reserve remaining sauce for another use.) Add pasta and about 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Bring to a boil over medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente and sauce thickens and coats noodles, 5 to 7 minutes, adding additional cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, as needed to reach desired consistency. Remove from heat. Tear remaining basil leaves (about 1/4 cup), and add to pot; drizzle with additional olive oil to taste, stirring until incorporated. Divide pasta evenly among serving bowls; finish with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately. Make ahead Store cooled sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Alternatively, freeze sauce in an airtight container for up to two months. Cook this recipe and more in the MyRecipes app. Get the App Save Rate Print Loading shell for RecipesUgcThreaded1 Vue component in Globe.