Lemme try that again.
Hey, you lovely, elite crew who has honored me by following, and/or expressing some enjoyment of this blog.
I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the prospect of figuring out how to share something meaningful from our incredible trip as well as getting back in the rhythm of posting our daily culinary adventures, but somehow tonight's dinner provided the perfect low stress re-entry point.
This is a dish that everyone should have in their back pocket. Incredibly easy, always delicious, feels virtuous, comfy, but you could serve it with confidence to a "foodie." It may seem strange that we made this dish in the first week of August, but since the high temperature for the day was 72℉, heating the oven and cooking pasta wasn't wacky at all. For those of y'all having NORMAL summer, you might need to wait a coupla months to check this out.
Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Ricotta Salata
Halve two pints of cherry tomatoes.
On a sheet pan, toss tomatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
Roast at 400℉ ~20 minutes until tomatoes collapse and slightly caramelize.
Cook 8 oz. of spaghetti until done (I use either whole wheat or I like Barilla's high protein pasta, just to amp up the fiber / protein), drain, reserving ~ 1/3 c. cooking liquid.
Combine pasta, tomatoes, cooking liquid, adding a good handful of chopped basil, and some crumbled or grated Ricotta Salata. Season with salt and pepper, and if it needs it, a little more olive oil.
Isn't that ridiculous? But it's SO good! Doesn't even require quality cherry tomatoes! If you don't have ricotta salata, some feta cheese will work, or goat cheese, or Pecorino Romano, or... Trust me. Along with my completely off the shelf (canned) puttanesca, this is such a go to dish.
YAY!!! You're back!!
ReplyDeleteMy method for roasting tomatoes is super easy . . . while heating the oven to 500 degrees, I halve and salt/pepper/olive oil the tomatoes. . . spread them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the hot oven and immediately turn the oven off and go about my business. By the time we've played with the dog and had a beer, the oven and tomatoes are cool enough to handle/use.