5.0 from 3 votes
Quick Pesto Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes (4 Ingredients!)
Pesto Pasta With Tomatoes is a quick dish of penne pasta and cherry tomatoes with a basil pesto and pasta water sauce for a fast and fresh pasta.
Total Time
15 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 257 kcal
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Italian , Australian
Ingredients
- 375 g penne pasta
- 500 g cherry tomatoes quartered
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoon basil pesto
- pasta cooking water
- fresh parmesan to serve
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, but don't drain immediately.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat then add cherry tomatoes.
- Fry tomatoes until they start to break down, allowing their juices to release and brown (not burn) in the base of the pan.
- While the pan is still on the heat, add ½ cup (or more if needed) of the pasta cooking water to the pan with tomatoes to deglaze the base - it will sizzle a little.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked pasta from the pot (don't drain the water) and add it to the tomatoes, stirring to coat.
- Transfer pasta to a mixing bowl or serving bowl, then stir in basil pesto to coat. Add a little more pasta water to loosen if needed.
- Serve with fresh parmesan cheese.
Cup of Yum
Notes
- *Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*
- Pasta cooking water - this is the starchy water that is left after you have finished cooking your pasta. I have included it in the ingredients as an extra reminder not to just drain it off and discard it.
- Aim to start frying off the tomatoes when the pasta has a few minutes to go in it's cooking time. They won't take long!
- As the chopped cherry tomatoes break down, the juice that comes out starts to create a brown (not black) base in the bottom of the pan, this is what we want! In French, this is known as "fond" and that's where the flavour is at! When you add your pasta water to the hot pan it is going to "deglaze" the bottom of the pan (get up all that yummy fond) and become the base of our sauce.
- Speaking of sauce, this isn't a really saucy pasta. But the sauce you do get is packed with concentrated tomato flavour and the freshness of basil and garlic. When you add the pasta cooking water to the pan you should have just enough sauce to coat the pasta.
- I highly recommend making your own basil pesto for this pesto pasta recipe. You can't beat the fresh flavour hit from homemade pesto in any recipe, but the pesto is the star of this pasta so the more flavour it has the better.
Nutrition Information
Serving
0g
Calories
257kcal
(13%)
Carbohydrates
0g
(0%)
Protein
0g
(0%)
Fat
0g
(0%)
Saturated Fat
0g
(0%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
0g
Monounsaturated Fat
0g
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
0mg
(0%)
Sodium
0mg
(0%)
Potassium
0mg
(0%)
Fiber
0g
(0%)
Sugar
0g
(0%)
Vitamin A
0IU
(0%)
Vitamin C
0mg
(0%)
Calcium
0mg
(0%)
Iron
0mg
(0%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 257
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 0g | |
| Calories | 257kcal | 13% |
| Carbohydrates | 0g | 0% |
| Protein | 0g | 0% |
| Fat | 0g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat | 0g | 0% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0g | 0% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 0g | 0% |
| Trans Fat | 0g | 0% |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium | 0mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 0mg | 0% |
| Fiber | 0g | 0% |
| Sugar | 0g | 0% |
| Vitamin A | 0IU | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 0mg | 0% |
| Iron | 0mg | 0% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.