One of the dishes I made with the heirloom tomatoes this weekend was a roasted tomato pasta. Whenever you don’t want to spend a lot of energy on a pasta dish, but want to keep it classy (aka, not just pouring the usual sauce from a jar over some spaghetti), roasted tomatoes are a great option. There’s a depth of flavor that you don’t get when adding sliced, raw tomatoes, and it puts any jar sauces to shame. Also, the whole dish reheats well, hence the photo above. Here’s the recipe:
Roasted Tomato Linguine for Two
-1/2 lb linguine
-8 medium tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup diced Kalamata olives
-2 tbs olive oil
-Salt
-Fresh pepper
1) Pre-heat the oven to 400°
2) Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place halved tomatoes on it, seed side up. Drizzle with olive oil and use hands to make sure tomatoes are fully coated (seed and skin sides). Add a few pinches of salt and freshly ground pepper and place in the oven for 30 minutes, or until tops of the tomatoes begin to slightly brown.
Alternative: If you have the time and want to slow roast the tomatoes, follow steps above, but roast at 250° for three hours. I’m impatient when it comes to my tomato roasting.
3) Once the tomatoes are in the oven, put a pot of water on to boil and cook linguine according to package directions. Make sure to add salt to the water and save a cup of the pasta water before draining.
4) When tomatoes and linguine are done, mix them together in a large bowl, quickly adding the Parmesan cheese to let it melt, and then add the chopped Kalamata olives and minced garlic. If additional liquid is required, add a splash of the pasta water.
5) Serve immediately and save leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to three days.
