If you’ve been here from the start you’ll know this recipe well- it’s from my very first book in 2009, GOOD MOOD FOOD! Sign of a good one as I still come back to it time and time again. I’ve been making versions of it forever and the one main reason is because of its simplicity. You roast tomatoes and garlic and whatever summer veggies, add warm pasta to the roasting tin, toss to get everything acquainted and serve straight to the table! Batch cook it for your dinners this week! x
Serves: 4
200g plum & cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 red onion, quartered
3 small courgettes, cut into 3cm cubes
1 bulb garlic, roots cut off
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vingar
350g green beans, cut into 5cm pieces
200g rigatoni
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan, to serve
Basil leaves, to serve
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
2. Arrange the tomatoes, courgette, red onions and garlic in separate piles across a medium-sized roasting tin with high sides. Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good toss to make sure it’s all coated evenly, then place in the oven to roast on the middle shelf for 30 minutes.
3. About 10 minutes before the vegetables are finished cooking, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. About halfway through the boiling of the pasta, add in the green beans.
4. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and carefully squeeze the mushy garlic out of the skins on to the tomatoes; discard the skins. Using the back of a fork, mash down the garlic and tomatoes until combined. Add a ladle of the pasta cooking liquid to this and stir to make a sauce. Now mix all of the contents of the pan together and then pour in the drained pasta.
5. Add some generous shavings of Parmesan and roughly tear in a few basil leaves. Toss everything together until well combined and serve hot, garnished with more Parmesan shavings and basil leaves