I make this recipe on lazy nights. It's good and it's easy and it involves a lot of cutting and chopping so I enjoy it immensely. I've never made it the same way twice, never measured a thing, and never will.
I'm writing this now mostly because the wonderful Peter Zimon asked me to. And also because it's a fun recipe for anyone to mess around with.
Tomato pasta
Ingredients:
- Cherry tomatoes. You decide how many. Be bold.
- Thin spaghetti (not angel hair)
- Garlic
- Basil
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- Lots of parmesan
- Anything else that sounds fun
Steps:
- Cut all of your tomatoes in half and dump them onto a baking tray.
- Add heaps of garlic, some salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. If you want to use a mystery ingredient, now is probably the time. I've added feta at this stage a few times, which can be good.
- Pour a healthy amount of olive oil on top of the ingredients in the tray and mix things around.
- Pop the tray in the oven 375° (190 celsius). It'll stay there for about 20 - 25 minutes.
- Boil a pot of water. Once boiling, add a bunch of salt and then add the pasta.
- While this boils, julienne some basil (long thin strips). Use a lot of basil. Assess how much basil you think you should use and then add some. Not so much that you're uncomfortable, but enough to feel like you're flirting with danger.
- Add the finished pasta, baked tomato mix, fresh basil, and some parmesan to a bowl or pot to be mixed around.
- Once on your plate, add more parmesan on top.
- Eat.