Roasted cherry tomatoes with pasta

Dear foodies,

How do you like your pasta ? For me most times its just whats lying in my veggie crisper. I just throw things together, add some spices and toss in the pasta. Or its in a soup, and sometimes baked. But for the most part I do not follow a recipe. In the summer I bought a lot of fresh produce from the local organic store like, zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, beans, peppers, snow peas and made quite a few pasta lunches and dinners out of them, either lightly stir frying them or roasted in the oven. Summer does put a dash of freshness in everything it brings to life.

I am still seeing tiny baskets loaded with the cherry tomatoes in the market. A few weeks back I bought yet another bunch of these home, they are a thing of beauty, bursting with juices and a little coaxing with some heat results in a sweet and tangy flavor explosion. I've roasted them in the oven quite a few times and more often than not they get eaten in the tasting stage itself before turning into a relish or pasta sauce :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups - Cherry tomatoes
• 2 nos - Garlic cloves
• 1 Tbsp - Olive oil
• 2 tsp - dried Basil - substitute with fresh when available
• 1 tsp - Red chili lakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cup - cooked pasta of your choice - any short size pasta/spaghetti/angel hair will work
• Grated cheese for serving - optional

Method:

1. Pre-heat the over to 400F. Wash and pat dry the cherry tomatoes, spread them over a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil along with the two cloves of garlic. Coat them well with 2 tsp of olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and basil. Roast in the oven for 15-20 mins, until they start to pop and get a slight char on the skins.
2. In the meanwhile bring water to a boil in a saucepan, add salt and cook the pasta to al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.
3. Once the tomatoes are ready, heat a shallow pan with the remaining 1tsp of oil over medium heat. Add the red chilli flakes so it flavors the oil, give it about 1/2 -1 min without burning. Squeeze out the garlic cloves into the pan and add about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. The garlic will eventually melt into the water.
4. Add the tomatoes next and stir, crushing a few of them with the back of your spoon. Simmer for a minute, check for seasonings. Toss in the pasta to coat well with the sauce, turn off the heat and serve warm with some garlic bread on the side. Top it with grated cheese if you like.
   

This was one of my weekend lunches. I had some white bread that I made a few days back. I cut a couple of slices and toasted them in the oven after the tomatoes were done. Once they turned golden I took them out and rubbed a raw garlic clove against them making a simple garlic toast to go with the pasta, yumm! I love tangy flavors and this pasta was really good with the concentrated tomatoes and the tiny char bits in it. I added some fresh mint leaves for garnish but totally hated it, it was way to strong for the tomatoes.

Now leaving you with the memory of another beautiful evening...

Seven days, seven posts, and I am a happy girl already :) Lets see how far I take it...