Creamy tomato pasta
This creamy tomato pasta makes a tasty midweek dinner. Roasting the tomatoes concentrates their flavour and brings out their natural sweetness. They’re paired with roasted garlic, creamy mascarpone, Parmesan and fresh basil for a perfectly balanced sauce.
Ingredients
- 1kg/2lb 4oz ripe cherry tomatoes
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- 300g/10½oz dried pasta
- 125²µ/4½´Ç³ú mascarpone
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú Parmesan or Grana Padano (or similar vegetarian hard cheese), grated
- handful fresh basil, finely shredded
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Put the cherry tomatoes and rosemary in a large roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper and stir to coat.
Using a sharp knife, slice off the tip of the garlic bulb to expose the cloves. Put the bulb on a square of foil, cut-side up. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in the foil.
Nestle the garlic among the tomatoes and pop the tin into the oven to roast for 45 minutes.
Discard the rosemary and transfer the garlic bulb to a plate to cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
Squeeze the garlic cloves over the roasted tomatoes and add the mascarpone, Parmesan and basil. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the roasting tin, with a splash of the pasta cooking water, and stir until the pasta is well coated in the sauce, then serve.