My husband and I loved a pasta with uncooked tomato sauce that we ate at a shack on the beach in Ischia during our honeymoon. I gave the idea to Craig Claiborne once. Later he told me he’d tried it and it was awful, but I noticed he ran a very similar recipe some months later. Only the best summer tomatoes will do. 

4 large beefsteak tomatoes
4 very large cloves of garlic
6 large basil leaves
1 tsp. salt
6 grindings of black pepper
2⁄3 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. bucatini or perciatelli 

Core and chop tomatoes coarsely, between 1⁄4 and 1⁄2 inch. (I never bother to peel them, but you can.) Put the tomato and all its juices into a large bowl. Peel garlic and smash with a chef’s knife if you want to remove it before serving, or mince two of the cloves if you want to leave it in for a more intense garlic taste. Add garlic to tomatoes. 

Cut 3 of the basil leaves into fine ribbons and add to tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Stir in olive oil. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving a third of a cup of pasta cooking water in the pot. Return pasta to pot and toss with reserved liquid. Ladle into soup bowls. Remove smashed garlic from tomatoes and ladle over pasta. Sliver remaining basil and scatter on top.  

Some will want a flurry of fresh grated Parmesan; purists will not. Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a first course.

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GAEL’S INSTANT CHILLED TOMATO SOUP

            This may be too primitive for some tastes but it’s delicious and could be a summer lunch or a starter for dinner with friends when you don’t feel the need to show off.

To serve two:  Chop two giant or three medium beefsteak tomatoes or pulse them in the blender into a pebbly puree.  Add to this mixture 2/3 cup of sour cream (or half sour cream and half low-fat yogurt or even all yogurt) and blend.  Pour into a chilled bowl and sprinkled snipped basil or mint on top. 

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