There’s not much better than a slow morning, with a huge mug of English breakfast tea, thinly sliced garlic and halved cherry tomatoes roasting in the oven, and finally having a plan for the leftover pasta languishing in the fridge.
Well, there’s actually a lot of things better. Like passing my boards without all this awful studying, an all-expense paid vacation to the Caribbean, little fluffy orange kittens, being on Skaneateles lake with my family, and getting a free shopping spree in the home section of Anthropologie.
But you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got–and I had half a box of cooked whole-wheat pasta, a few cloves of garlic, and tomatoes from my parents’ garden.
Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pasta
- 8 oz dried whole-wheat pasta, cooked according to package directions (I used penne)
- 1-2 T reserved pasta water
- 1 T olive oil
- 15-20 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced length-wise
- 2-3 ounces goat cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, and toss the cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper together, and roast on the middle rack until the tomatoes are softened, wrinkled, and super fragrant. The garlic should be browned–this took about 45 minutes to reach my liking.
The longer the tomatoes are roasted, the sweeter and more delicious they’ll be.
Toss the cooked pasta with the reserved pasta water (and a sprinkle of olive oil, if you want), then add in the roasted tomatoes and garlic. Sprinkle with goat cheese until it melts and forms a rich and creamy sauce.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sweet tomatoes with goat cheese and nutty pasta?
I think I will.
I love when leftovers just barely able to survive another night in the fridge evolve into something amazing and new.
Food reincarnation.
3 comments
Christina
September 14, 2012 at 8:31 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Beautiful photos. The goats cheese looks amazing – I miss that stuff. I too have become such a fan of slow roasted tomatoes. Oooh and nutty wholewheat pasta.
Sarah
September 23, 2012 at 2:36 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
This looks fantastic. I just found your blog today and have already pinned a ton of recipes.
Lauren Zietsman
September 30, 2012 at 9:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
love pinterest