Sungold Tomato Pasta

Combining cheese, basil, and Sungold tomatoes, this quick, bright, and light weeknight dish can be cooked up in less than 15-minutes (and consumed even quicker).

Prep:5 minutes
Cook:10 minutes
Yield:Serves 6

Hayley and I participate in a Supper Club that meets every month. We do our best, despite the craziness of this world, to commit to being together monthly for a meal (and have even been meeting virtually during pandemic times). The couple that hosts prepare the meal and every other couple get to enjoy and savor the company. It's a sweet deal, I must admit. And, after 16 months, we're still going on strong. 

Last Summer, it was our turn to host. 

At the time, it was 90+ degrees out and Sungold tomatoes were absolutely booming in the summer heat. They were as sweet and juicy as can be. We knew we had to utilize them somehow, but how? We opted out of a sauce simply because they're too good to be pulverized and deserve to be treated more eloquently than that (don't we all?). We thought about tossing them into a salad, but it seemed to much of an afterthought. After all, it was peak tomato season- these babies needed to be the star of the show. 

We came to the conclusion of highlighting them in a warm pasta. It was the best decision of the night. In fact, this pasta dish was the first of 4 dishes we served and was hands-down the show stopper of the evening. Yet, somehow, it only took 15-quick minutes to make?!

What makes this pasta so good is the opportunity you give the Sungold tomatoes to sweat down in oil and garlic and intensify all of their delicious, sweet juices to begin the sauce. Then, you come over the top of them with a thick pasta, salty parmesan, and aromatic basil. To finish the sauce off you'll go for round two of cheese with a sweet pecorino and that's it. It's really as simple as that, but the flavors absolutely explode. 

Simplicity in cooking is ultra-complicated (doesn't make sense, does it?) but when you nail it, usually it's a favorite for years to come. This Sungold Tomato Pasta is just that. 

Enjoy. 

Ingredients:
Salt
1 pound Pasta (Campanelle, Fettuccini, Fusili or any other thick pasta with ridges to soak up the sauce) - Locally sourced from Barenaked Noodles
¼ cup Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic (smashed) - Locally sourced from Ireland Farms
4 cups Sungold Tomatoes (halved) - Locally sourced from Southern Organics
1 cup Parmesan Cheese (freshly grated)
1 cup Pecorino Cheese (freshly grated)
1 cup fresh Basil (chopped) - Locally sourced from Southern Organics
Directions:
1.
Bring large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Season with salt. Add pasta and cook until nearly done (about 3-minutes short of the package directions). Drain, but reserve ¼ cup pasta water.
2.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and smashed garlic to cook until the garlic is fragrant and just beginning to brown (3-4 minutes). Add the sliced Sungold tomatoes and salt. Cook, stirring often until the tomatoes are just beginning to break down and release their juices (this is a crucial part of the sauce!), about 4-5 minutes. Add the drained pasta to the tomatoes and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Toss well to coat the pasta in the tomatoes. Sprinkle in the pecorino and basil and toss one more time to combine. If too thick, loosen the sauce with the reserved pasta water if needed. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, chopped basil and more Parmesan.