As I look out our office window, I am treated with the most beautiful bright pink Bougainvillea against a bright blue sky. The sight always puts a smile on my face because I know that Spring is well and truly here. Along with all the other things I adore about Spring, I love the fact that there is an abundance of lovely fresh produce around.
Last week I saw the most beautiful Rosa tomatoes in my supermarket and decided to use them in a simple pasta to showcase their beautiful flavour. I decided to roast them along with two whole heads of garlic and made a quick sauce using olive oil and some of the cooking water from the pasta. As I tossed the cooked pasta with the sauce I decided to add a few handfuls of fresh rocket (arugula) and finished it off with shavings of Pecorino Romano.
The pasta was just delicious. I loved how the tomatoes were well and truly the star of the show being complimented by the sweet roasted garlic, peppery rocket and salty Pecorino. All-in-all, a great Spring pasta.
Ingredients
for the sauce
- 600 g rosa or other small tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
- 2 whole heads of garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- fresh rocket
to serve
- 500 g cooked linguini
- fresh Pecorino
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 220 °c.
- To roast the tomatoes, place them in an oven dish, drizzle with the Balsamic vinegar, a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the hot oven and allow to roast for 20-25 minutes until blistered.
- Wrap the whole heads of garlic in foil and roast alongside the tomatoes until soft. Once soft, squeeze the garlic from the skins and keep aside.
- When the tomatoes are cooked, place them in a small saucepan along with the garlic puree. Add the 1/3 cup olive oil and season to taste. Allow to cook over low heat for 5 minutes, allowing all the flavours to mingle.
- Toss the sauce with the cooked pasta and fresh rocket and serve with fresh Pecorino scattered over the top.
I tried this recipe out last night. What a winner! It’s relatively cheap to make and you can spend a little time chilling out while the tomatoes and garlic are in the oven. I can see it becoming a regular for dinner. I only have one question: Do you have a simple way of getting the garlic out of the skins? It took me forever (okay, it took ten minutes, but it felt really long)!
So glad you liked it Kristia.
The easiest way to get garlic out of their skins quickly is to put the separated cloves on a wooden chopping board. Place the flat side of a large knife on the clove of garlic and bash down with the palm of your hand (being careful not to cut yourself). This will split the skin open and you can get the garlic out easily. Then, to get the smell of garlic off your hands, simply rub your hands on any stainless steel item you have (I rub my hands on the inside of my steel vegetable basin).
Thanks! I was right about it making a comeback. Made it for an impromptu lunch with friends yesterday. We used matured Cheddar instead of Pecorino, which worked beautifully!
Your photos are make me hungry. I can almost smell those beautiful tomatoes from here!
Hi Alida,I hope it’s okay to leave a message here which is unrelated to the above recipe! I walked into Wordsworth this morning and sitting on the entrance table amongst a collection of truly beautiful South African cookbooks was your book. I picked it up and paged through it and I’m not ashamed to admit, your photos drew me in, hook, line and sinker! Everything was so very inviting and truly edible. As of right now I am the proud owner of Simple & Delicious! What a beautiful, LOVE IT!!!! Well done, you should be sooooo proud!! Warmest regards, Susan
Oops, typo, *What a beautiful BOOK!
Susan, your comment just put the biggest smile on my face. Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments and thank you for the support. I am so happy to see the hard work has paid off. I have to be honest, having a book on the shelves is quite daunting as you can only hope what you’ve done is enough. I am so very thrilled that you love the book and please feel free to pop in and leave more comments. I love hearing from my readers. x
Alida, I have just finished reading your book from cover to cover. While all the recipes are gorgeous, the Risottos to die for, the thing I loved most about the book were all the little commentaries at the top of each recipe. It was rather like being in your kitchen with you. So lovely!! Oh, nd the Banana Cake, OMG!! I know your book sales will be a huge success! Susan