Even though the calendar says it’s officially fall and the days are getting shorter and shorter, the temperatures during the day are still in the 90’s for us. As summer slowly comes to an end, my garden is blessing me one last time with a plethora of ripe, juicy cherry tomatoes and sweet basil. The perfect bounty to make this healthy, fresh, fabulously fast to make pasta dish.
Since there are so few ingredients needed to make this dish, using really good, high quality ingredients is important for the best flavor.
Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees.
Skip the pre-grated Parmesan cheese, it won’t melt into a creamy sauce. While the oven preheats, take a quick minute to grate some fresh Parmesan cheese for this dish.
Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in an oven safe skillet. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
Once the olive oil is hot, add cherry tomatoes and garlic halves to the skillet with some kosher salt.
Cook, stirring often so the garlic doesn’t burn. Burnt garlic is bitter so keep it moving around the pan.
Once everything is good and hot place the skillet in the preheated 425 degree oven.
Bake until the tomatoes soften and the garlic cloves are nicely roasted.
While the tomatoes and garlic are roasting in the oven, cook the pasta al dente, and drain.
Place the skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Smash the tomatoes and garlic together with a potato masher right in the pan to make a chunky, rustic sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
Cook the sauce until it’s hot and bubbly, about 2 minutes.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss to coat the pasta with the smashed tomato/garlic sauce.
Add a glug (technical culinary term…LOL) of olive oil and the freshly grated parmesan cheese to the pan. Taste and season with additional salt if needed. Stir until the cheese melts and coats the pasta, making a rich sauce.
TIP: If sauce is dry, add a few tablespoons of the pasta water to the skillet.
Turn off heat, add the chopped basil and stir to combine all the ingredients together.
To serve, place pasta in a heap in the center of the plate.
Top each serving with another glug (there’s that sophisticated culinary term again) of olive oil, some freshly cracked black pepper, shredded Parmesan cheese, and a few sprigs of basil leaves to serve.
TIP: For a prettier presentation, use tongs and a large spoon or ladle to swirl the pasta into a circular heap.
This dish comes together so quickly and it’s bursting with all the sweetness of summer’s fresh flavors. Using just a few high quality ingredients produces a truly tasty pasta dish. Perfect for dining al fresco, enjoying the last few beautiful Indian summer evenings.
Roasted Garlic, Fresh Cherry Tomato Garlic Pasta
Equipment
- oven safe skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti, cooked al dente, according to package directions
- 3-4 cups cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup basil leaves, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
- olive oil
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a large cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.
- Once oil is hot, add cherry tomatoes and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring often until tomatoes and garlic are hot, about 2-3 minutes.
- Place skillet in the preheated oven and bake until tomatoes are soft and garlic is roasted, about 10-15 minutes.
- While tomatoes and garlic are in the oven, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Transfer skillet from the oven back to the stove. Use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes and garlic together making a chunky, rustic sauce.
- Turn heat back on to medium and season sauce with salt and pepper.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan. Add a couple tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce.
- Stir in Shredded Parmesan cheese and stir until cheese melts.
- Add some pasta water to the skillet if sauce is too dry.
- Add chopped basil and toss to combine.
- To serve, place pasta onto a plate and top with a glug of olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper, and a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Garnish with sprigs of basil if desired.
Did You Make This?
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