Busiate is a type of traditional Sicilian pasta, specific to the Trapani area. It’s a unique type of long macaroni with a helical shape, bronze-drawn and slowly dried.

Recently, I received a package of this fantastic pasta as a gift, so I immediately thought of using it in an improvised recipe. I wanted to achieve a very creamy pasta dish as this type of texture perfectly complements busiate.

I chose a homemade cherry tomato sauce as the base for the condiment and “strangely” opted for the classic soft cheese triangles for the final creaming. Thanks to this choice, I achieved the creaminess I was hoping for, and I must say the result was amazing!

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Affordable
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 2
Cooking methods: Boiling
Cuisine: Regional Italian
Region: Sicily
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

For the Creamy Tomato Busiate

10.5 oz cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
to taste extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
7 oz busiate
2 soft cheese triangles

Tools

Pots
Food mill

Steps

To make the Creamy Tomato Busiate

To start, take the cherry tomatoes, wash them well, and then dry them with a cloth. Cut them in half one by one and set them aside.
Next, take a high-sided pan, like a wok, and heat a good amount of evo oil with the crushed garlic clove. Once the oil has reached temperature, add the sliced cherry tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of sugar, letting it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Continue by mashing the softened cherry tomatoes with a meat tenderizer to release most of the pulp. Finally, remove the garlic clove from the sauce.
Now, take a food mill, place it over a bowl, and pour all the cherry tomato sauce into it. Operate the food mill to obtain a sauce without skins. Finally, pour the sauce back into the same pan.
At this point, put the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water and wait for it to cook for the time indicated on the package. Once cooked, drain the busiate into the pan with the sauce. I recommend using a slotted spoon for this operation to avoid discarding the cooking water, which you’ll need shortly.
To finish, cook for a few minutes over medium heat, mixing the pasta with the sauce. Then add the soft cheese triangles and a few ladles of cooking water so that the cheese melts.
Finally, serve a portion of busiate with tomato on a plate and serve at the table. You can garnish with crushed pistachios or salted ricotta!