Tomato Pasta

The funny story about this Tomato Pasta is that I found the recipe in an old cookbook and decided to make it for my boyfriend at the time. I can’t remember the name of the cookbook now, but the recipe was so good that for years after we broke up, my ex would mention this pasta to me any time I ran into him. I made some changes to the recipe from the original one that I found in the cookbook back then. I think this version of Tomato Pasta is the best one because it uses such simple ingredients like tomatoes, olive oil and salt, and that means it is super affordable to make. I like to make this Tomato Pasta in the Summer because here in the Midwest, the tomatoes are absolutely perfect. I have tried to make this recipe in the colder months but because of our limited access to fresh tomatoes here in the Midwest it doesn’t taste exactly the same. All you will need for this recipe are:

• Grape Tomatoes
• 1 C of Olive Oil
• 1 T of Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
• 2 T of Oregano
• 6 to 8 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 t of Chili Pepper Flake
• Capers if you want them
• 1 Box of Angel Hair Pasta

A couple of things about this recipe that I have found to work best:

1. Use the grape tomatoes, while the step of cutting them in half (that you will see below) does take more time, the grape tomatoes are the perfect texture for this recipe.
2. I have been buying the whole peeled garlic in the resealable bag from Aldi because I have had terrible luck with whole cloves of garlic lately.
3. I love to add capers to this recipe, but Mr. Tipsy does not like them, you can choose which you prefer.
4. This recipe uses a lot of salt, but you must remember that this is to get the tomatoes to the perfect consistency and you do not add any other seasoning after salting the tomatoes.
5. You will see in the steps that you roast these at 375 degrees, but if you are home one day, I find this recipe to be even better if you slow roast the tomatoes for a couple hours at 250 degrees instead.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is how the tomatoes in the middle are soft and sweet and the tomatoes around the edges get all crinkly and crunchy, salty and delicious.

Equipment you will need to make this recipe:

• 1 foil lined baking sheet
• Tongs
• A deep skillet
• A large bowl

I also want to mention that this recipe costs about $10 to make if you have some of the pantry items on hand like the salt, oil and spices. Plus this recipe feeds at least six people with leftovers.

Now that you know what you need, lets get started on making this recipe.

1. Cut all of the grape tomatoes in half the long way down each tomato.
2. Add all the tomatoes to a bowl and salt heavily and give a good stir.
3. Add about 3/4 of a cup of olive oil to the bowl + the garlic cloves and give it all a good toss.
4. Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. Spread the tomatoes on the foil lined baking sheet and place in the oven.  add a sprinkle of salt again to the whole pan.
   1. Every oven works and heats differently so pay attention to your tomatoes so they don’t burn. Here is how I roast them:
   2. Place in oven and let bake for 25 minutes before pulling them out.
   3. At 25 minutes I pull them out and give the whole pan a good stir and then I spread the tomatoes and garlic out again across the pan.
      1. You want good surface area for this so that the tomatoes get all crinkly, candied and sweet.
      2. I also smash all the cloves of garlic at this point and mix them into the tomatoes.
   4. Place them back in the oven for 25 minutes. In my oven this is enough, so I pull the pan out and let them sit on the hot pan on the stove while I boil the pasta.
      1. You know your tomatoes are done when the center ones are all soft and sweet and the edge ones are all shriveled and crinkly and salty.
   5. Boil your pasta according to package directions.
      1. You want the pasta al dente.
      2. Drain the pasta, rinse it and then drain well again.
   6. Heat your deep skillet with the rest of the oil, then get it a little hot and add the tomatoes and garlic.
   7. Let the tomatoes and garlic sit in the oil and get a little crispy, then I add the oregano.
      1. I love a lot of oregano in this recipe, you can add as little or as much as you like. If you do not like oregano, you can add basil.
   8. After the oregano cooks in the tomatoes for a bit, I begin tossing in the pasta, a little at a time and tossing it well with the oil and tomatoes. I let each handful of pasta I throw in sit and absorb some of that tomato infused oil.
   9. After all the pasta is added, let the pasta sit in the pan on medium high heat for a few minutes and let it get a little crispy.
   10. I then toss in some dried chili pepper flake, you can omit this if you don’t like spice.
   11. If you like capers, add as many as you like in at step five.
       1. If you have people in your family who do not like them like I do, you can also just add them on individual plates, although they do taste good crisped up a little.
   12. Serve on it’s own or with fresh Parmesan cheese.

As I mentioned above, this recipe uses a lot of salt, so the tomatoes taste very salty on their own. You have to remember when you toss it all with the pasta the salt is distributed and it isn’t the same high salt level of flavor that the tomatoes are on their own.

I also love the oregano, but you should adjust your seasoning to how you like it. Every one is different so if you want to use less of any spice or seasoning, go ahead and make it your own.

Some other things you can add to this dish:

• Roasted or Grilled Chicken
• Fresh Parm
• Fresh Mozzarella
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Spinach
• Grilled Fish
• Shrimp

I also mentioned that this recipe feeds a crowd, so if you need a party dish this is a great one to make ahead. Just roast your tomatoes the day before. You can easily double and triple this recipe. Just make sure you make enough for leftover because trust me, you’re going to want them.

*Here is a printer friendly version of the recipe, just highlight and print this section to save ink and paper.

Tomato Pasta

Ingredients

• Grape Tomatoes
• 1 C of Olive Oil
• 1 T of Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
• 2 T of Oregano
• 6 to 8 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 t of Chili Pepper Flake
• Capers if you want them
• 1 Box of Angel Hair Pasta

Steps

1. Cut all of the grape tomatoes in half the long way down each tomato.
2. Add all the tomatoes to a bowl and salt heavily and give a good stir.
3. Add about 3/4 of a cup of olive oil to the bowl + the garlic cloves and give it all a good toss.
4. Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. Spread the tomatoes on the foil lined baking sheet and place in the oven.  add a sprinkle of salt again to the whole pan.
   1. Every oven works and heats differently so pay attention to your tomatoes so they don’t burn. Here is how I roast them:
   2. Place in oven and let bake for 25 minutes before pulling them out.
   3. At 25 minutes I pull them out and give the whole pan a good stir and then I spread the tomatoes and garlic out again across the pan.
      1. You want good surface area for this so that the tomatoes get all crinkly, candied and sweet.
      2. I also smash all the cloves of garlic at this point and mix them into the tomatoes.
   4. Place them back in the oven for 25 minutes. In my oven this is enough, so I pull the pan out and let them sit on the hot pan on the stove while I boil the pasta.
      1. You know your tomatoes are done when the center ones are all soft and sweet and the edge ones are all shriveled and crinkly and salty.
   5. Boil your pasta according to package directions.
      1. You want the pasta al dente.
      2. Drain the pasta, rinse it and then drain well again.
   6. Heat your deep skillet with the rest of the oil, then get it a little hot and add the tomatoes and garlic.
   7. Let the tomatoes and garlic sit in the oil and get a little crispy, then I add the oregano.
      1. I love a lot of oregano in this recipe, you can add as little or as much as you like. If you do not like oregano, you can add basil.
   8. After the oregano cooks in the tomatoes for a bit, I begin tossing in the pasta, a little at a time and tossing it well with the oil and tomatoes. I let each handful of pasta I throw in sit and absorb some of that tomato infused oil.
   9. After all the pasta is added, let the pasta sit in the pan on medium high heat for a few minutes and let it get a little crispy.
   10. I then toss in some dried chili pepper flake, you can omit this if you don’t like spice.
   11. If you like capers, add as many as you like in at step five.
       1. If you have people in your family who do not like them like I do, you can also just add them on individual plates, although they do taste good crisped up a little.
   12. Serve on it’s own or with fresh Parmesan cheese

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. Until next time, happy eating!

Love,

Tipsy

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