Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 2

Recipe by Mario Batali

Photograph by Tom Schierlitz

Bon Appetit May 2011 issue

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 oz. Sun Gold or cherry tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• 6 oz. capellini, spaghetti, or bucatini
• 3/4 cup finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan
• 8 medium fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• Toasted breadcrumbs (for garnish; optional) 

Preparation

• Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes, season with salt, and cook, covered slightly and swirling pan often, until tomatoes blister and burst, 10-12 minutes. Press down on tomatoes to release their juices. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
• 
  
  Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a pot. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.
• 
  
  Transfer pasta to skillet with tomatoes; set over high heat. Add 1/2 cup pasta water. Cook, stirring and tossing often, until sauce thickens and begins to coat the pasta, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining oil, cheese, and half the basil and toss until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente. (Add more pasta water if sauce seems dry.) Add remaining basil, season with salt, and serve with breadcrumbs, if desired.

My notes:
I normally allot 70g of uncooked pasta per person. Make sure that you remove the pasta 2 min. before the recommended cooking time because this will continue to cook in the skillet.


The original recipe called for sun gold tomatoes but I used cherry tomatoes and I added left over cooked bacon which I had in my fridge. I don't think that it enhanced the flavor of the dish but it added texture to it. I also used 3 Tbsp of olive oil and stirred in 1 tbsp butter instead of 1 tbsp oil at the end.


I didn't use as much cheese to lessen my calories intake but I served grated parmesan cheese on the side. 


Renan loved this dish and Rance said that it was good.


Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Anchovies and Arugula

I played around with the above recipe but used 3 tbsp olive oil,4 cloves of sliced garlic, 8 anchovy fillets, 1/2 heaping tsp red pepper flakes and a whole pack of arugula. I then added 1 tbsp butter to finish the dish.


This was a cinch to prepare and quite healthy too.