I started my garden planning yesterday. I scooped seeds out of a few beautiful red, yellow, and green bell peppers and a few Roma tomatoes and laid those out to dry for starting in a day or two. My three-year-old son helped me seed some flats with herbs and water them. And I’m going to pick up an eggplant and some grape tomatoes soon and save the seeds from those for planting.
All this garden prep makes me think of fresh tomatoes in my summer garden, which also makes me think of pasta pomodoro, my favorite pasta dish. The flavor of fresh tomatoes sautéed with garlic and olive oil and tossed with basil chiffonade is one of my favorites from summer. It’s not summer yet, but I found a good deal on some nice Roma tomatoes at the market yesterday, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make this dish. It makes a delicious side dish for four people or a main meal for two people.
Pasta Pomodoro
Equipment
- 8-quart pot
- large saute pan
- serrated knife (for the tomatoes)
- sharp knife (for the garlic)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta (shape of your choice, regular or gluten free)
- 3 quarts water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 to 10 medium to large roma tomatoes (cut into bite-sized chunks)
- 2 to 4 large cloves garlic (depending on how garlicky you like it, minced)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 12 leaves basil (cut into chiffonade)
- Parmegiano Reggiano (grated, or vegan option)
Preparation
- Start the pasta water. Once it starts boiling, add kosher salt. Break pasta in half and add to the pot. Stir and cover. Bring back up to a boil, then cook til al dente. Drain.
- While the pasta cooks, add the olive oil to the pan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until it just starts to turn golden.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes, just until they are hot and start releasing their juices.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the basil. Allow to sit until the pasta is ready.
- Spoon over a bowl of cooked pasta and garnish with more basil and fresh grated Parmegiano Reggiano.
[...] Just tried out this recipe from Andrea’s Recipe Box, very simple to make, and very very yummy! I didn’t have any capellini so used some shells instead, was a little difficult to eat as the lack of sauce meant they were sliding around the plate, next time, capellini will be used! [...]