Italian Cherry Tomato and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta Recipe

The Pasta of Everything

Maybe I have been watching too much of Stephen Hawking’s documentary, Into the Universe- The Story of Everything. And maybe just because I just went grocery shopping today and bought all the fresh veggies and so I couldn't resist using them all in my pasta together. Either ways, I’m going to refer to it henceforth as The Pasta of Everything! Did it turn out well? For me, yes!! For you- well, I’ll let you decide… :)

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 45 min

You’ll need:

1 medium sized red onion

3 small cloves of garlic

Colored peppers- red, yellow and green

Kalamata olives

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 small tomato

A handful of red teardrop tomatoes

3 spoonfuls of sundried tomato pesto

1 cup mini fusilli pasta

A handful of fresh mint leaves

1 tsp ricotta cheese

1 bay leaf

Seasoning- dried oregano flakes, salt, pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1    1.       Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
2.       Chop onions into small pieces, and mince the garlic. Separate the rosemary leaves and chop them into small pieces.
3.       Heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a pan, and put in the bay leaf. After about 30 seconds, reduce the heat to low and add the fresh rosemary, onions and garlic. Let them cook till they are transluscent, stirring ocassionally. This should take about 7-8 minutes.
4.       While the onions are cooking, chop the colored peppers, about ¼ of each, into small 1” pieces.
5.       Add them to the pan after the onions are done, and let them cook and a couple of minutes, stirring ocassionally.
6.       Chop the tomato into medium sized pieces. Add it to the pan, too.
7.       Halve the kalamata olives and discard the seeds. Also chop the mint leaves.
8.       After the tomatoes and well cooked and blended, add the olives, mint leaves and teardrop tomatoes to the pan. Stir and cook for a minute or so.
9.       Add about 3 tsp sundried tomato pesto and mix well.
10.   Add the pasta, and seasoning to taste. Toss well so the pasta is nicely coated with the sauce.
11.   Remove the bay leaf, and serve. Add the ricotta cheese on top.

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.