Pasta with Roasted Tomato, Rosemary and Mint Sauce

So I'm usually not a big fan of pastas with tomato sauces (like I hate arrabiata). But this time I tried cooking one myself, just because I had too many tomatoes hanging out in the fridge and I had to try something new. And I also had lots of fresh mint and rosemary and I wanted to use those as much as possible before they went bad. So I experimented with this pasta recipe, which I thought was very summery and savory. It was a complete experiment, and I wasn't sure how it'd turn out, but thankfully it was delicious and I topped it off with some truffle oil, but you may choose to skip that part. 

Serves: 1 

Prep time: 45 mins

You’ll need:

1 -2 roma tomatoes

2-3 long twigs of rosemary

8-10 large mint leaves

2 handfuls penne pasta

1 small red onion

1 small clove of garlic

Salt, black pepper powder, dry oregano 

Extra virgin olive oil

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Separately, keep the pasta to boil in a pot, sprinkle a pinch of salt and a couple drops of olive oil.

2. Cut the tomatoes into thin, long slices.

3. Chop the onion into medium sized pieces and mince the garlic.

4. Wash the rosemary twigs and separate the leaves from the stems.

5. Put all the tomatoes, half the chopped onions, garlic and rosemary in a baking dish. Sprinkle some salt, black pepper powder and oregano. Drizzle some olive oil. Place in the oven. (If you like it hotter, u can also chop up half a green chili and add it.)

6. Chop the rest of the rosemary finely.

7. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan, add rosemary and stir for a few seconds. Keep the heat low-medium.

8. Add the remaining onions and garlic, and stir until onions start to brown.

9. Keep checking the items in the oven every 5 minutes. The tomatoes should b added only after they have roasted well, and the onions have started to caramelize. Turn the heat up or down depending on how brown you want them. All in all, at least 20 minutes is a good time to roast them.

9. Once they are done, add the roasted tomatoes, onions etc. to the pan and continue stirring.

10. Add half a cup of water and bring it to a boil, stirring continuously.

11. Chop fresh mint leaves and add to the sauce. 

12. Add more salt to taste.

13. Mix well until water evaporates and the paste looks well blended.

14. Strain the pasta once it is cooked and lay it out on a plate.

15. Pour the sauce over it and enjoy.