Pasta With ‘Raw Sauce’
Pasta With ‘Raw Sauce’

Pasta With ‘Raw Sauce’

This rainbow in a bowl is Rome’s celebration of summer. Bright red cherry tomatoes are tossed with capers, olives, basil, mozzarella, chilli and garlic, and finished with ricotta. The raw sauce, ‘checca’, is best served with hot spaghetti but it is often served cold stirred into cooled penne to make a salad.
Photography: HELEN CATHCART

All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products.

Serves
4 (as a main and 6 as a starter)
Total Time
20 Minutes
Ingredients
320g of spaghetti
200g of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 garlic clove, peeled & finely chopped
20g of capers, rinsed well
100g of whole green olives, stones removed & quartered
1 red chilli, finely chopped
5 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
125g of mozzarella, cut into approx. 2cm cubes
3 tbsp of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra leaves, to serve
100g of ricotta
Handful of basil leaves
Method
Step 1

Cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of well-salted, boiling water according to the packet instructions until al dente. Meanwhile, gently mix the tomatoes, garlic, capers, olives, chilli and oil together in a bowl.

Step 2

Warm a large mixing bowl ready to toss the spaghetti in. Drain the spaghetti and toss it in the warm bowl with the tomato mixture, season well and then gently mix in the herbs and mozzarella. Serve with spoonfuls of ricotta on top.

Recipes from Rome by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi (Hardie Grant, £18.99), Photography © Helen Cathcart

Fashion. Beauty. Culture. Life. Home
Delivered to your inbox, daily