I take inspiration from all around me and my cooking philosophy (and perhaps generally in life too) is that everything can be improved upon. So even though I thought my regular tomato sauce could hold is own, I was intrigued when I saw Swedish food writer Sofia Wood add butter and honey to her tomato sauce on Instagram.

Not long after I saw that I made this spaghetti with tomato sauce and burrata and the butter, honey and lemon juice really improved my already quite good tomato sauce. The butter just makes it more mellow (in the best possible way) while also adding depth. I highly recommend trying this at home! The honey is less controversial as I always add sugar to my tomato sauce to take away sharpness, but honey works really well and you don’t have to be scared you added too much like you can with sugar. Lastly, the lemon juice added back a bit of sharpness after having removed some with adding butter and honey, but it adds a different kind of sharpness than the tomatoes have naturally – it’s fresher!

So with all these little tweaks my tomato sauce was taken to the next level and it was SO good paired with creamy burrata, olive oil and basil that I urge you, yes URGE you, to try it too!

Spaghetti with buttery tomato sauce and burrata, serves 2

1 burrata, 200 g

300 g spaghetti

1 tbsp olive oil for frying

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

400 g passata

50 ml water

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp salted butter

1-2 tsp lemon juice

1 small bunch basil, finely chopped

salt and pepper

Topping:

torn basil

extra virgin olive oil

grated parmesan

salt and pepper

Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Take the burrata out of the fridge. Add the oil to a large sauce pan on medium heat. Fry the garlic for a few minutes but don’t let it get too brown. Add the passata and water and let it reduce for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add honey and butter to the sauce and let it melt while stirring. Add the lemon juice and basil and season well to taste.

Add the drained spaghetti to the sauce and a little pasta water if needed. Continue to cook the pasta in the sauce while moving the pasta around in the pan with tongs until each strand of spaghetti is evenly coated with tomato sauce. Remove from heat and divide between bowls.

Tear the burrata in two and divide between bowls. Drizzle with olive oil. Scatter with basil and add extra salt and pepper. Finish it off with a generous scattering of grated parmesan.