Description
This easy roasted tomato pasta recipe is made with juicy, slightly charred oven roasted tomatoes, a little olive oil, fresh mozzarella and pasta. To finish, we use fresh basil on every layer of pasta and every nook in the tomatoes. I love not only the simplicity of this recipe but the versatility too.
Ingredients
- 500 grams oven roasted tomatoes, 6 or an 8 pack or 200g cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
- 300 grams pasta, for approx. 4 people with a serving of 85 to 100grams per person.
- 400 grams canned whole tomatoes
- 2 cups tomato passata
- 2 tbsps tomato paste
- 2 cups reserved pasta water
- salt
- 150 grams Fresh mozzarella
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- Fresh basil
- black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat on 220°C / 400°F.
- Prep the tomatoes to roast: Rinse the whole fresh tomatoes, cut in half or quarters place onto a roasting tray. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. If roasting cherry tomatoes, these will take 20 minutes. See the full recipe for Roasted Tomatoes.
- Make the creamy tomato sauce: Over medium heat, simmer the canned tomatoes, passata and tomato paste for depth of flavour. Towards the end of the simmer, add the fresh basil.
- Cook the pasta: In a large pot of salted water cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions and reserve a cup of pasta water. One cup will be used in the sauce while it simmers and the other is reserved for the end of the recipe.
- Prep to serve: Add the pasta into the tomato sauce, combine. Add the roasted tomatoes, drizzle any tomato pan juices over. Gradually add the reserved remaining pasta water into the pasta sauce and give the pan a gentle swirl. Do not pour the whole thing of pasta water at once!
- For more sauce, gradually add splashes of the remaining cup of the pasta water into the sauce. Add the fresh basil in-between your pasta layers and on top. Tear the fresh mozzarella, drizzle olive oil, salt and fresh black pepper.
- Garnish / Serve: Use a little pasta water if your pasta needs that extra sauce to loosen it up. Add freshly grated parmesan, and serve.
Notes
Roasting tomatoes: You can also slow roast tomatoes (in advance) and use either high heat as per the recipe or on a low heat of 160° C/320°F for roughly an hour. You can find more on how to roast tomatoes in this recipe.
Which tomatoes are best for roasting?
Any tomatoes are good for roasting just not under-ripe and not green tomatoes.
Can I use jarred roasted tomatoes in this recipe?
We often serve fresh or dried pasta with roasted tomato or jarred and they both serve delicious flavors in their own way. A good brand of jarred tomatoes goes a long way.
How do I make this recipe gluten free?
Simply use gluten free pasta instead of wheat pasta or opt for an even healthier verision by using zucchini noodles.
Can I make this ahead of time?
It's always a good idea to make part of the recipe ahead especially if there many other dishes to make or you may run short of time. To cut the steps in the recipe, use dried pasta or store-bought fresh pasta, any type, there are many! Roast the tomatoes a day, or days ahead and once cooled, store in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner Main Course
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Calories: 445
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 111
- Fat: 16
- Saturated Fat: 3
- Carbohydrates: 61
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 13
- Cholesterol: 4