Summer, summer, summer. The word is fat and round and breezy and rolls around nicely on the tongue. And we want our food to be breezy, too.
If you have basil and tomatoes growing in your garden, make this. If you have a farmers’ market near you, make this. And if you have leftover pesto hanging around, even store-bought, you can still make this.
You’ll cook the pasta and make the pesto in the time it takes to roast the little tomatoes. The amount of oil in the dish is flexible; a bit is added to the roasting tomatoes, a bit to the cooked pasta, and the rest goes into the pesto. The pesto is intentionally a bit thick, as it will distribute itself nicely over the pasta and tomatoes when tossed, but you can always add a little more oil if you want a more fluid pesto.
By no means do you have to use cavatappi — it was the pasta I grabbed at the moment, and I do love its compact, chewy, twisted little shape.
Another thing to love is the fact that this can be served hot, warm or at room temperature. It’s a great make-ahead dish, hanging out happily for a day in the fridge before being brought to room temperature and served. It’s very portable.
And it’s not too hard on the eyes either. Yellow tomatoes are a nice burst of sunny color, but you can use red too, or a mix of colors.
CAVATAPPI WITH ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES AND PESTO
Serves 6
Start to finish: 35 minutes
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
5 sprigs fresh thyme
About 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup packed basil leaves
3 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 pound cavatappi or other chunky pasta
Nutrition information per serving: 560 calories; 227 calories from fat; 26 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 406 mg sodium; 60 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 18 g protein.
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