Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil

  This dish definitely falls into my top 10 favorite recipes, and without a doubt is Trevor's number 1 favorite dinner. It is so simple, flavorful, and could most likely be made with ingredients you already have stocked in your kitchen. It would be really hard to mess this recipe up, but one key to making sure it tastes excellent is making sure to use really fresh tomatoes. I only go to the store once a week so I generally make this the same night that I grocery shop to ensure that my tomatoes are as fresh as possible. I used homemade pasta, which is very easy to make, but you can use store bought fresh pasta or dry pasta as well. I will post the recipe for the fresh pasta in a later post with some step by step instructions. Surprisingly I have little else to say about this dish other than just make it, it is so amazing! 

The GRE test is less than 3 weeks away... nervous but excited to get it out of the way so I can actually have free time again and maintain a few posts a week on this blog :) Oh and not having to wake up early on Saturdays to spend my afternoons with the GRE tutor is also going to be plus!

Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil

about 6-8 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced ( I basically chop enough to fill an 8x8 baking dish about 2/3 of the way up)

handful of basil leaves, chopped

about 4 cloves of garlic, minced

parmesan cheese, grated

salt

pepper

olive oil

1lb of pasta

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

  Toss tomatoes and garlic in an 8x8 baking dish. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bake just until tomatoes are heated through and slightly bubbly, about 15-20 minutes. Stir halfway through baking. Make sure not to over cook tomatoes because they will become too mushy. 

  While tomatoes cook, heat a large pot of boiling water and cook pasta until its al dente. Drain pasta but do not rinse. Toss with parmesan, just enough to lightly coat pasta. 

  Remove tomatoes from oven and stir in basil. Toss tomatoes with cooked pasta and serve with a little sprinkle of parmesan on top. 

A Little Zest Original