Summer Pasta With Burst Cherry Tomatoes
User Reviews
5.0
6 reviews
Excellent
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
10 mins
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Total Time
20 mins
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Servings
4 -6
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Course
Main Course
Summer Pasta With Burst Cherry Tomatoes
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An easy, light and summery pasta dish, with cherry tomatoes cooked just enough to burst their skins and release their juice. Simple, but so delicious.
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Ingredients
- 1 pound curly pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil more for drizzling
- 6 ounces pancetta preferably thick cut, diced*
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- sea salt
- black pepper
- 1 quart Mixed Cherry or Grape Tomatoes cut in half
- 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups whole basil leaves torn
- 4 scallions thinly sliced
- * for vegetarian version, leave out pancetta, but add 1/3 cup pecorino cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (1 minute less than package instructions). Drain pasta, reserving a cup of the hot pasta water.
- If the tomatoes are different sizes (like the farmer’s market mixed heirlooms), cut the cherry-sized ones in half and leave any small ones whole, so they’re all roughly the same size.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high, add oil and give it a swirl to coat the bottom. Add the pancetta and cook until it starts to render and turn a little brown, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir until they are coated in the oil. Season with a little sea salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the tomatoes shrivel up slightly, release some juice and brown a bit at the edges, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the drained pasta to pan with the tomatoes and toss (if the mixture looks dry add a little pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time). Cook over high heat until the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce. Add the butter and toss until it melts and coats everything.
- Turn off the heat and top with a generous mound of fresh basil and scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper before serving.
- Note: If you want to make the dish vegetarian, leave out the pancetta and toss 1/3 cup grated pecorino in with the butter.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
6 reviews
Excellent
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