My Friend P

I have never been a lover of tomatoes.  And all my life I have heard that fresh tomatoes are like eating candy.  Well, I am not particularly fond of candy either.  Okay, an occasional peanut M&M has passed through my lips, but in general I am not excited about it.  But I understand the point being made.  And a couple of years ago I was inspired by my friend P and a very brave decision she made.  She and I were both tomato-avoiders at the time.  Then one day she made a proclamation.  She had decided that if she was served a sandwich that already had a tomato on it, she would be a grown-up and go ahead and eat it.  Wow, was I impressed.  But I didn't have any intention of following her lead.  Until the other day.  UD and I were at a restaurant that served a small salad before the meal.  There were 2 cherry tomatoes cut in half.  My friend P flashed through my mind, and with the thought of her and her braveness, I actually ate one.  I was so surprised and delighted to find that it was absolutely delicious!!!  How stunned was I?  I can answer that.  Very!  So on the way home, we stopped at our favorite farm stand on the Rocky Coast, and picked up a pint each of grape and cherry tomatoes.  I wanted to roast them and make a sauce in celebration of widening my horizons.  Thanks P.

Here is the recipe I used, and the few changes I made.

You will need:

2 pints of small tomatoes - your choice
1 large onion
2 large cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt  - I think it could use 2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound of pasta
grated Parmesan for garnish

Unfortunately the Japanese beetles were very thick this year on the Rocky Coast, and they have an affinity for basil.  I had to cut mine back because they ate most of the leaves.  So I probably only harvested 1 tablespoon for this dish.  I just added more parsley.  I used mezzi rigatoni for the pasta, but it is such a light sauce, it would probably be wonderful with angel hair pasta as well.  Also, many, many, many years ago, our daughter R introduced us to Barilla pasta.  Now that is all we use.  Thanks R.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Rinse the tomatoes and drain.

 Cut the tomatoes in half, and mix with the chopped onions.

 Add the Herbs, S & P, EVOO and garlic.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Boil the pasta in water that tastes as salty as the sea, and use a spider to transfer it into the casserole dish once the tomatoes have finished roasting.  This will bring along a little of the starchy, salty pasta water, which will add some nice flavor.  If you don't have a spider, save a 1/4 cup of the pasta water and add it after adding the pasta.

Roast the tomatoes for about 40 minutes, until they are bubbly and delicious.

 Garnish with freshly grated cheese, and dinner is served.

A bientot!  See you soon.