A simple cherry tomato pasta to make all summer long. It celebrates the rustic simplicity of summer cooking and the beautiful tomatoes that will be popping up at the farmer’s markets!
One thing I love to do in the summertime is make a pasta sauce solely from cherry tomatoes. No onions, no garlic, no herbs…just sweet, juicy tomatoes.
I cook the cherry tomatoes down in olive oil until burst, softened, caramelized, and super sweet. You’ll want to add just enough salt (which will be a fairly generous amount) to bring out a really strong tomato flavor. When tossed with the pasta, it turns into a beautiful rustic sauce that you really can’t beat this time of year.
You can make this with any pasta you’d like, but I really love using these thick paccheri noodles. They’re so delicious and such a fun shape to eat. And then you can top the pasta in any which way you’d like as well. My suggestion? Some broken burrata cheese, a handful of watercress, flaky sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
This simple cherry tomato pasta is summer pasta perfection.
PrintSimple Cherry Tomato Pasta
a simple cherry tomato pasta topped with burrata and watercress
serves: 4
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ lbs cherry tomatoes
- kosher salt
- 1 lb paccheri pasta
- 1 ball burrata cheese
- handful of watercress
- flaky sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven (or heavy-bottom pot) over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the whole cherry tomatoes and a generous pinch of salt. Let the tomatoes cook until they begin to burst, stirring often.
- Drop the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes, stirring often, or until the tomatoes are soft and caramelized.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Drop the pasta and stir really well. Cook 2 minutes less than the package instructions. Drain the pasta.
- Add the pasta to the cherry tomatoes. Stir well to coat. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
- Plate the pasta. Break the burrata cheese into pieces and place over top. Garnish with a handful of watercress, some flaky sea salt over the cheese, and a few good cracks of black pepper. Drizzle with a little more olive oil.
Maybe serve this pasta alongside a big grilled chicken salad? Sounding very, very good to me..
