This roasted garlic and tomato sauce could not be simpler, but the flavours are truly incredible- you’ll have everyone fooled!
This recipe is one that does not have measurements. Cooking without a recipe is so liberating and fun- if you’ve not tried it before, I encourage you to give it a go! I used to only cook from recipes, but gradually began trusting my instincts and creating things on my own. You really get a feel for flavours and pairings, and cooking can become such a breeze when you can create something from the odds and ends you’ve got in your fridge and pantry!
So consider this a perfect opportunity to try it out. Place a bunch of baby tomatoes into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red wine, salt, pepper and a few peeled garlic cloves. Roast it up to caramelized perfection and use it on pasta, toast, in a grain bowl, etc. Feel free to improvise with the veggies and herbs too- maybe add some onion or bell peppers, dried oregano or basil.
This will be the perfect recipe for those of you with tomato plants in the backyard! We have a number of tomato plants and I know this will be my go-to recipe as we always seem to end up with way more tomatoes than we know what to do with!
Before going into the oven:
After about 45-60 minutes in the oven (I didn’t measure anything, and I didn’t time it either!):
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
Cherry tomatoes (I probably used about 3-4 cups)
Garlic cloves, peeled
Drizzle of olive oil
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Splash of red wine
Other ingredients:
1-375g box multigrain penne
1-200g container bocconcini, sliced
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
1 small handful fresh basil, torn into pieces
Red chili flakes (optional)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400F. Toss the cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red wine in a bowl until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast for 45-60 minutes, until tomatoes pop and everything begins to caramelize.
2) If turning into a pasta sauce, mash with a potato masher. This sauce is meant to be rustic, with big chunks of tomato still visible.
3) While tomatoes are roasting, cook pasta according to package directions. Transfer back to pot, add roasted tomato mixture, sliced bocconcini and olives.
4) Serve! Top with fresh basil, red chili flakes and/ or black pepper if desired.
