Penne with Marinated Tomatoes

Folks,

Since a lot of us are heading to the Farmer's Market (or our gardens) tommorrow, I wanted to share this recipe. Quick, very attractive and tasty way to use those beautiful heirloom tomatoes. Great on a hot day- only to be made with the very best in-season tomatoes. I've made it for years and adapted it; don't know the original source.

Penne with Marinated Tomatoes

Roasted (or Sundried Tomatoes) add an extra depth of flavor to the sauce.

2 large farmer's market tomatoes,
(I recommend one yellow or orange, and one red- makes a very attractive dish)

4 oil-packed roasted tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes.(I use Divina Roasted tomatoes- if using these, use 8 as they are small)

1 clove fresh garlic- minced

approx. 1/4 good extra virgin oil

1/2 lb good quality penne or penne rigate (tube pasta)

Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
Basil leaves for garnish


Coarsely chop 2 tomatoes and put in a colander to drain for 15- 20 minutes. (this eliminates the need to seed them) Drain roasted tomatoes, reserving oil and coarsely chop. Add olive oil to the drained oil to make 1/4 cup total. Combine fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, oils, sea salt & pepper to taste in a large bowl. Marinate at room temperature for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Boil pasta in salted water until al dente (11-13 minutes). Drain well, and while still hot, toss with tomato mixture.

Coarsely chop basil and combine with pasta. Adjust seasonings. Turn into a low pasta bowl and garnish with basil sprig/leaves. Serve immediately or at room temperature. (I prefer room temp).

Deb

[Robin Garr]

Penne with Marinated Tomatoes

Great recipe, Deb, and thanks for posting! We make a simpler Italian version here every summer - very similar but without the sun-dried tomatoes, just fresh, juicy tomatoes cut up and tossed with very finely minced garlic, basil chiffonade, excellent olive oil and S&P, over either penne or long pasta. The Italian name is "<i>salsa cruda</i>" ("raw sauce"), as I recall.

I'm playing around in my mind with the idea of adding the sun-dried tomatoes and oil, and can argue it both ways. It would certainly intensify the tomato flavor, always a good thing. But on the other hand, one of the great joys of <i>salsa cruda</i> is that it celebrates fresh, fresh, fresh tomatoes and basil, and I almost hate to tinker with that.

Might have to try it both ways ...

Robin,

Try it with the the roasted tomatoes, it adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the recipe. (no wait, that's french, not Italian...)

I also love Salsa cruda and its close cousin bruschetta topping. But the roasted tomatoes in this one have a smoky depth of flavor that is a great counter-point to the bright acidy (is that a word?) of the heirloom tomatoes. Big thing is (as always in a simple recipe) to use the best ingredients you can find- I use Napastyle Gray salt for my sea salt and really high quality roasted/sundried tomatoes, and some of my best green olive oil.

It's also really pretty and keeps for hours for buffet service- what more can you ask?

to the bright acidy (is that a word?)

"acidity," I'm guessing, is what you were looking for, Deb.

I've tried (from Cook's Test Kitchen) a couple of times using roasted tomatoes (and other vegetables) in salsa, but for some reason I can't buy into the taste. What do you think, Deb? Roasted for salsa?

TP,

I'm with you: I wouldn't want roasted tomatoes in my salsa. If I'm going to make salsa, it'll be a fresh salsa with the emphasis on fresh tomatoes. I don't mess with cooked salsa there are too many good packaged ones out on the market for it to be worth it.

Deb

The Cook's folks actually roaster all of the vegetables for their salsa, although their ultimate product was served over something hot (sorry, I can't recall the whole show), so maybe that is why they favored the roasting. Whatever I ended up with in my kitchen wasn't too good on a chip, though!