By Carla Vigos
Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist
With the summer harvest and availability of sweet tomatoes, I created this recipe using what I had on hand.
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My daughter and granddaughter visited recently, and we all wanted pasta. My granddaughter wanted the sauce creamy. I had ricotta in the fridge and grated cheese, so we were set. You can use whatever pasta you like in this recipe.
You need a lot of water when you cook pasta, and it has to be heavily salted. Never rinse the cooked pasta; in fact, you need to save some of the pasta water for this recipe.
Carla Vigos, Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist (Courtesy photo)
Summer pasta is quick and easy to make. Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist Carla Vigos has the perfect recipe. (Courtesy of Jeff Sinclair)
I use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the pasta out of the water into the pan.
Roasting the tomatoes for just 20 minutes enhances the flavor.
This recipe comes together easily in about half an hour. It’s quick and tasty and serves four.
Any questions or comments, contact me [email protected].
Summer pasta
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound / 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
4 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces pasta
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup ricotta
1 cup grated Romano or Parmesan, plus more for topping
1 cup pasta water
Optional: Fresh basil, 2 cups arugula, more cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, hot chili flakes
DIRECTIONS
Roast the tomatoes on a flat sheet pan coasted with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If the grape tomatoes are huge, cut them in half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.
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Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente. Remove from water and set aside
In a fry pan, add remaining tablespoon of olive oil plus diced onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the roasted tomatoes and garlic.
The pan that you roasted the tomatoes in will have nice seasonings left behind, maybe a little char, which is good. Put one cup of pasta water into that pan and stir to loosen up the remains.
Add that pasta water and ricotta to the tomatoes and stir to make a creamy sauce.
Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to combine, along with one cup of grated cheese. The sauce will be creamy.
At the end, add fresh basil and optional arugula. If you like it saucier, add more pasta water. Adjust seasonings. Plate with more grated cheese, a drizzle of olive oil or hot chili flakes. Mangia!
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