Add a green salad, a chunk of good bread, and a crisp Italian white or a light red, and it’s a perfect—and perfectly simple—dish to celebrate the delicious little tomato.
Garden Tomato Pasta
(adapted from The Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten)
4 pints (roughly 8 cups or two pounds) cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
18 large basil leaves, julienned, plus more for serving
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound angel hair pasta or thin spgahetti
1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
Combine the tomato halves, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper in a large bowl. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
Just before you’re ready to serve, cook the pasta in salted water with a splash of olive oil. Cook al dente. Drain the pasta and add to the bowl with the tomatoes. Add cheese and toss well. Top each serving with additional cheese and a few basil leaves.
Serves 6 generously. For two with leftovers, make the same amount of sauce but half the pasta and make fresh pasta a night of two later.
Buon appetivo!
Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Watch for her first standalone suspense novel, Bitterroot Lake (written as Alicia Beckman) in April 2021 from Crooked Lane Books.
A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.
Swing by her website and subscribe to her seasonal newsletter, for a chat about the writing life, what she's working on, and what she's reading -- and a free short story. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.
Two wonderful ways to enjoy tomatoes with pasta.
ReplyDeleteYou can never have too many, right?
DeleteThis is brilliant! Thanks, Leslie!
ReplyDeleteAccidental brilliance! Thanks, Amy!
DeleteLovely, simple, and tasty.
ReplyDeleteWe knew you ladies were in synch!
And both blessed with a bounty of tomatoes!
DeleteNecessity is a mother...oops That isn't how it goes, is it?!
DeleteSuch a simple and delicious recipe. Thanks, Leslie!
ReplyDeleteBuon appetivo!
DeleteRecipe does look delicious. Thank you. Can't wait to try it on my daughter. Tomatoey and pasta are her favorite type of dish.
ReplyDeleteGreat -- I hope she loves it as much as we did!
Delete