The recipe starts with tomatoes and garlic cloves, which are oven roasted for just about 15 minutes. In that short time, magic happens. First, the house smelled amazing – roasted garlic might just be one of my favorite aromas ever. I’ll be honest, I’ve roasted tomatoes before (romas, I think) and I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I didn’t really like them. I’m not sure what’s changed between now and then, but these roasted cherry tomatoes were like candy – I couldn’t stop grabbing them off the baking sheet and popping them into my mouth. When we return from our vacation, these roasted tomatoes are one of the first things I want to make, and this time I don’t plan to incorporate them into any recipes.
I whipped this pasta up for lunch the other day (I halved the recipe), baking an individual gratin immediately and putting the rest in a rectangular pan in the fridge to be baked the next day. The gratin was fantastic – the sauce was rich and creamy from the mascarpone and, of course, each bite that contained one of those sweet roasted tomatoes was a favorite. It didn’t feel as heavy as some other mac and cheese recipes I’ve made so that was an added bonus. Definitely a repeat here, maybe even with a few more veggies in the mix!
By Tracey
Pasta with Mascarpone and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
adapted from Pink Parsley Catering (originally from Gourmet, February 2004)
Ingredients:
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved (I used a 12 oz bag)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb pasta (I used Trader Joe’s orecchiette)
- 1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 oz (1 cup) finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup minced fresh chives
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Combine the tomatoes and garlic on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly plumped. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool slightly, then remove the garlic cloves and mince them.
While the tomatoes roast, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente (check the instructions on the package for time). Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl, add the mascarpone and stir until melted and combined. Add the reserved pasta water, little by little, until the sauce has thinned a bit (I only used about 1/2 cup of the water). Gently mix in the red pepper flakes, minced garlic, tomatoes, half of the Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons of the chives, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour the pasta into the baking dish and top with the remaining Parmesan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pasta is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling. Garnish with remaining chives before serving.
