Equipment
Ingredients
Tomato Confit Sauce
- 800 g heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges, or halved if using cherry tomatoes
- 180 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 garlic, peeled and gently smashed
- 1 lemon, peeled into long strips
- 5 fresh oregano, whole sprigs
- 8 g kosher salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly ground
Pasta
- 400 g rigatoni
- 4000 ml water
- 40 g kosher salt
Garnish
- 5 g fresh oregano leaves
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 840 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbohydrates
- 90 g
- Fat
- 48 g
- Fiber
- 9 g
- Sugar
- 11 g
- Sodium
- 797 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 7 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 33 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 6 g
- Potassium
- 902 mg
- Calcium
- 132 mg
- Iron
- 6.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 86 mg
- Phosphorus
- 263 mg
- Zinc
- 2.0 mg
- Vitamin A
- 67 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 31 mg
- Vitamin E
- 6.6 mg
- Vitamin K
- 28 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.5 mg
- Thiamin
- 0.92 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.55 mg
- Niacin
- 7.7 mg
- Folate
- 242 mcg
- Water
- 18 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit).
In a large baking dish, combine the heirloom tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, torn ancho chiles, cinnamon stick, smashed garlic cloves, lemon peel strips, and oregano sprigs. Season evenly with the kosher salt and black pepper, gently tossing everything together until coated in the oil.
Bake the tomato mixture in the preheated 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit) oven until the tomatoes have completely collapsed, releasing their juices to mingle with the highly aromatic, sizzling oil. This will take about 45 minutes.
About 15 minutes before the confit finishes, bring a large pot containing the water and salt to a rolling boil over high heat.
Add the rigatoni to the boiling water and cook until al dente, usually 1 to 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
Carefully ladle out and reserve about 120ml of the starchy pasta cooking water. Drain the rigatoni in a colander.
Remove the baking dish from the oven. Discard the cinnamon stick, oregano stems, and the large pieces of lemon peel. Use the back of a spoon to roughly crush the softened garlic and any larger tomato pieces into the oil.
Transfer the hot, drained rigatoni directly into the baking dish with the warm confit. Vigorously toss the pasta with tongs while adding small splashes of the reserved pasta water. Continue tossing until the oil, tomato juices, and starchy water emulsify into a glossy sauce that clings to the noodles.
Divide the pasta among serving bowls, spooning any extra sauce from the dish over the top. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves and serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Ancho chiles are mild and boast a rich, raisin-like sweetness. Tearing them allows their natural sugars to slowly seep into the oil without overwhelming the dish with heat.
- Using an oven-confit method prevents the garlic from burning and gently extracts the delicate aromatic oils from the lemon peel and cinnamon stick, which would otherwise be destroyed by high-heat sautéing.
- For the best emulsification in step 8, ensure your pasta water is heavily saturated with starch. You can achieve this by cooking the pasta in slightly less water than traditionally recommended.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store pasta and confit sauce in an airtight container. The olive oil may solidify in the fridge but will melt upon reheating.
Freezer: 1 month — The confit sauce freezes well on its own. Do not freeze the cooked pasta.
Reheating: Reheat gently in a skillet over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water to loosen the sauce if necessary.
Troubleshooting
The sauce is greasy and the olive oil separates from the tomato liquid, failing to coat the pasta.
Cause: Insufficient agitation and lack of starchy pasta water to bind the fat and liquid.
Fix: Add an additional 30ml of hot pasta water and stir vigorously in a skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce tightens and becomes creamy.
Prevention: Always reserve the pasta cooking water and ensure you toss the pasta vigorously in the pan to encourage emulsification.
Ancho chiles taste bitter or have a harsh burnt flavor.
Cause: Oven temperature was too high, or chiles were not submerged in the olive oil, exposing them to direct dry heat.
Fix: Cannot be fixed. Bitter chiles must be picked out and discarded.
Prevention: Ensure the chiles are torn into pieces and submerged or thoroughly coated in the olive oil before baking.
Cultural Context
While pasta dressed in a fresh tomato and olive oil sauce is a hallmark of traditional Italian cuisine, the incorporation of dried ancho chiles and whole cinnamon draws deeply from Mexican culinary traditions. This fusion dish bridges the gap between the Old World and the Americas, utilizing slow-roasting techniques to highlight the complex, smoky sweetness of the chilies alongside peak-summer heirloom tomatoes.
