Should I use fresh or canned tomatoes?
Very ripe fresh tomatoes in summer are the ideal. Outside tomato season, good canned San Marzano tomatoes (800 g) produce an excellent result.
Italian · dinner
40m
Total time
4
Servings
320
kcal
easy
Difficulty
tap to check off
FAQ · Things people ask
Very ripe fresh tomatoes in summer are the ideal. Outside tomato season, good canned San Marzano tomatoes (800 g) produce an excellent result.
Thick — somewhere between a thick soup and a porridge. It should not be liquid. Add or reduce water to reach the consistency you like.
Pappa al pomodoro is traditionally served at room temperature in summer, or warm in cooler months. Cold is fine but the texture is slightly gelatinous.
Related · You might also cook

Carbonara is technique, not ingredients. Get the egg-and-cheese mixture off direct heat and you've solved 90% of it.

Three ingredients. The simplest pasta in the Roman canon is also the most technically unforgiving — the sauce either comes together or it clumps.

Amatriciana comes from the town of Amatrice, not Rome, but the Romans claimed it long ago. The argument about whether it needs onion has been going on for decades — I skip it.

A good pasta al pomodoro is not a quick dump-and-stir — the sauce needs 15 minutes of focused reduction to turn canned tomatoes into something worth eating.