Who says that pasta al pomodoro is boring? The most iconic Italian dish, made with the simplest, cheapest, and most available ingredients you can think of, may not strike for creativity, I give you that. But it remains one of the most comforting foods I can think of, along with England’s bangers and mash—and anything with loads of cheese, if you ask me.

But in Naples, which is also its birthplace, pasta al pomodoro gets an interesting twist, one that is at once incredibly simple and incredibly effective in transforming this humble, everyday food into something truly luscious.