Tomatoes are finally here! You can bet that I am going to eat as many as humanly possible this summer. In my world, there is nothing more perfect than a juicy summer tomato. I am that person who glares at the red tennis balls that they try to pass off as tomatoes in the grocery store in the winter. Why do they taunt us like that?
Perhaps I am just particular because my grandfather was passionate about his tomatoes and started some of his plants from seeds that he had saved from the best tomatoes from the year before. One day, I will grow tomato plants in my front yard, just like him. As soon as we get around to buying a yard, that is.
Anyway, enough about my love of tomatoes, and more about this pasta dish. I saw some tiny tomatoes at the farmer's market last weekend, and their red color was so deep that I had to buy them. I'm glad I did, because they were some of the sweetest tomatoes I've ever eaten. Roasting them only intensified their flavor. This dish is incredibly simple and quick to make; you can make it and have the dishes washed in 45 minutes or less. Scott and I like to eat this for lunch, but paired with a salad or another side dish, it would make a perfect dinner dish.
Notes:
This recipe is only as good as the tomatoes that you use. If you use mediocre tomatoes, this dish will taste like it is missing something. If you start with some amazing-tasting tomatoes, you'll end up with a very delicious bowl of pasta. The other key to this dish is making sure your pasta is ready a minute or so after you pull the tomatoes from the oven, so time your pasta cooking accordingly.
Ingredients:
1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 tablespoons of olive oil
generous handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
½ pound dried farfalle pasta
Yields two bowls of pasta
Cut, Roast, Boil, Toss, and Serve:
Set a rack at the middle level of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Slice the tomatoes in half, and place them in a medium-sized (~1.5 quart) oven-proof casserole dish. Add the minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and two tablespoons of olive oil, and toss to coat the tomatoes. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft, wrinkly, and have released some of their juices, stirring every 10 minutes or so. A little bit into the tomato cooking time, bring a pot of water to boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, aiming to have the pasta ready a minute or so after you pull the tomatoes from the oven. When the tomatoes are ready, remove them from the oven, and toss them with the fresh basil. Divide the drained pasta into two bowls, top each bowl with half of the tomato-basil mixture, and drizzle with an additional tablespoon or so of olive oil. Eat while hot.
5 comments:
Sounds so good, I'm going to be making this soon. The tomatoes are starting to come in here, not the little ones yet, but I've picked a few regular tomatoes. And, I've plenty of fresh basil growing, both green and a purple one. Wouldn't that look pretty in the pasta. Thanks for the suggestion.
Barbie! I'm so jealous about your basil and tomatoes!! I might just have to eat some in August!!! :)
I made this tonight for dinner with a few modifications. Delicious. I didn't have the little tomatoes ripe yet, so I cut up some of the larger, regular ones. I also had part of a red pepper in the fridge, so I added a small amount of diced pepper. I also had been given a zucchini and put a small amount of diced zucchini in as well. Neither over powered the tomatoes. I used shells as the pasta, topped it with chopped red and green basil and served it on the patio with garlic bread and wine. Delicious! Terry loved it! It will definitely be dinner again another night soon.
Perhaps we can make this in August for the reunion. How can we qualify it as Armenian?
Feel free to eat as many tomatoes as you'd like and there is plenty of basil, too.
:)
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