Peasant-Style Spaghetti

This is rustic Italian cooking at its most honest. Fresh tomatoes and garlic get a quick sauté in oil until they break down, then minced prosciutto goes in to add salty, porky depth without needing to simmer for hours.

The whole sauce takes about 8 minutes. That’s it. The prosciutto does the work a long-cooked meat sauce would do, but in a fraction of the time. A short simmer after adding pepper and oregano lets everything meld, and then you toss it all with hot spaghetti so the pasta absorbs the juices.

Use fresh tomatoes here, not canned. Peeling and chopping them takes a few extra minutes, but they give the sauce a brighter, lighter flavor than canned. A quick dunk in boiling water makes the skins slip right off.

Pro Tips

• Mince the prosciutto finely. You want it to almost dissolve into the sauce, not sit in chewy chunks.
• Save some pasta water. If the sauce seems dry after tossing, a splash of starchy cooking water brings it together.
• Peel tomatoes easily: Score an X on the bottom, blanch 30 seconds, then ice bath. Skins peel right off.
• Fresh oregano is a nice upgrade if you have it. Use about a teaspoon of chopped fresh leaves.

Variations

• Pancetta swap: Use diced pancetta if prosciutto is hard to find. Brown it first for crispy bits.
• Add red pepper flakes for a little heat, about ¼ teaspoon with the oregano.
• Cherry tomatoes: Halve a pint of cherry tomatoes instead of peeling fresh ones. They burst and make their own sauce.