Burst Tomato Pasta
I’ve been eating A LOT of tomatoes the past few weeks. Isn’t that one of the things you just have to do during summer?
Over consumption of tomatoes is a requirement. But I’m not sure if you can ever have too many tomatoes.
It’s pretty obvious that I’ve taken care of my tomato obligation. When I scroll through the camera roll on my iPhone, all the evidence is there.
I see is a rainbow of red, green and gold straight from the farmers market and from the plants in the container garden on our back deck.
On my plate, it’s tomatoes eaten every way possible including raw in salads. You can’t go wrong with a classic caprese.
Roasted tomatoes might be my favorite. I like to squash them down with a fork on crusty bread or fold them into orzo.
Raw or roasted in the oven, it doesn’t matter. I am doing my best to consume tomatoes at 2 out of 3 meals per day. So far I am meeting my goal and then some.
For weeknight dinners, especially Mondays, I like to make dishes that require little to no chopping or prep.
I count on leftovers or meals that can be ready in 10-15 minutes or less.
It’s even better when I can make multiple components at once. That’s why we end up eating so much pasta.
I love that I can focus on sauce while the noodles are cooking. 
With a pint of vibrant cherry tomatoes, I made burst tomato pasta. It came together in minutes.
I started by sautéing minced garlic in olive oil. Then I added the tomatoes.
After a few minutes, they started to burst. I gave a few of them some encouragement by squishing them with a potato masher. Of course, I had to be careful because the tomatoes squirt out hot juices.
I then put the pasta into the skillet with the tomatoes. The olive oil and tomato juices mixed together into a sauce with the tomatoes.
This burst tomato pasta will work with any shape. I use noodles from fusilli to spaghetti, and they all are wonderful.
Burst Tomato Pasta
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Ingredients
16 ounces pasta, any shape
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 pint assorted cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Shaved Parmesan for serving
Finely chopped basil for serving
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cherry tomatoes and continue cooking until they soften and burst, about 5-7 minutes. You can squish the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to speed up the process. Just be careful because the tomatoes can squirt hot juices.
Stir in the cooked pasta, salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan and basil before serving.
