Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
This recipe may seem like it calls for a lot of mint, but that’s what makes this easy pasta dish so refreshing. Cooking halved cherry tomatoes in olive oil until they burst condenses their flavor and caramelizes their edges, and makes a very intense base for the pasta sauce in this dish. Pancetta adds richness and a salty tang, but if you’d rather leave it out, you can. Just toss in some grated pecorino cheese at the end along with the butter.
Ingredients
- 1pound fusilli pasta
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
- 6ounces pancetta, preferably thick cut, diced
- 6garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Fine sea salt and black pepper, as needed
- 1quart cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 3tablespoons butter
- Fresh ricotta cheese, for serving (optional)
- 3cups whole mint leaves, torn
- 4scallions, preferably red scallions for color, thinly sliced
- Flaky sea salt, to finish
Directions
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 15 seconds, then add the oil and heat until it thins out and easily coats the pan when swirled. Add pancetta and cook until it starts to render its fat, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until they burst, turn golden at the edges and shrivel up slightly, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add pasta to pan and toss with tomato-pancetta mixture; 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.
Divide pasta among warmed pasta bowls. Garnish with dollops of ricotta if desired, and top with a generous mound of fresh mint and scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper before serving.
Nutrition
- Info
- Trans Fat: 0 gramsFat: 22 gramsCalories: 545Saturated Fat: 9 gramsUnsaturated Fat: 11 gramsSodium: 720 milligramsSugar: 6 gramsFiber: 7 gramsCarbohydrate: 69 gramsProtein: 18 grams
Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016634-pasta-with-burst-cherry-tomatoes