Slow roasting tomatoes really brings out the flavor of the tomato. I was home yesterday afternoon and wasn’t heading anywhere, so thought I’d take the time to slowly roast roma tomatoes to serve over rigatoni. I roasted them for 2 hours at a temperature of 275 degrees. I cut 9 roma tomatoes in 8 sections … first in half lengthwise, then again, then I cup them through the middle. I placed them on a sheet pan, drizzled them with olive oil, four cloves of garlic that I’d minced, kosher salt, pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Oh my goodness, the house smelled great! I actually wish I’d cut up all 13 tomatoes that I bought because they do shrink down quite a bit.

This is a picture of the tomatoes before roasting

As my rigatoni was coming to a boil, I started on my sauce. It was quite simple, actually. I made the sauce out of olive oil, white wine, grated parmesan and the juice of one lemon. Once the tomatoes were done roasting, I added them to the sauce and continued to cook together.

I served the pasta with fresh basil and shredded parmesan. It was fabulous. Dennis took the leftovers for lunch today and loved the dish as much the second day.

Ingredients

• 9-13 roma tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• rigatoni, 16 ounce package
• 1/2 cup olive oil for sauce, plus a drizzle for the tomatoes
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• juice of one lemon
• balsamic vinegar, drizzle
• kosher salt, a couple teaspoons for the pasta water and a pinch sprinkled on the tomatoes
• pepper, a pinch sprinkled on the tomatoes
• basil, for serving
• shaved parmesan for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Cut tomatoes into 8 pieces each and place on a sheet pan. Drizzle olive oil, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and pepper over tomatoes. Place in oven to roast for 2 hours.

While pasta boils, add olive oil and wine to a sauté pan. Add grated parmesan and juice of one lemon. Simmer on medium-low until cheese melts into sauce. Add roasted tomatoes and keep on low until pasta is done. Add noodles directly into the sauce, along with fresh shaved parmesan. Serve with ribbons of basil. Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris