My New Favorite Tomato Sauce

It's a rich, speedy showcase of fresh tomatoes

I’m a self-professed fan of slow cooking, and as another New York summer drags on, I’m looking forward to those quiet, winter-lit afternoons with a pot burbling gently on the stove. When it comes to tomato sauce, though, I increasingly want things fast. Maybe it’s the sports car sheen of all those trophy nightshades on display at the market, but lately I think a tangle of spaghetti dressed in barely-cooked tomatoes — electric red, still fresh and unbowed by heat — is the height of elegance.

Of course, there are many great recipes for tomato sauce that is raw or close to it. Puttanesca sauce is occasionally tossed in a bowl without cooking, much like a Sicilian favorite of mine, cu l’agghia, in which fresh tomatoes are salted and mingled with oil-packed tuna.

This recipe — tagliatelle with chopped tomatoes and cream — isn’t quite as “no-cook” as those, but it’s still fresher and speedier than any long-stewed ragu, with a touch of the richness typically seen in a Bolognese. It’s part Marcella Hazan, part Enzo Ferrari.