Linguine with fresh tomatoes and basil

This wonderful pasta recipe utilizes a Summers bounty of sun-ripened tomatoes and basil. It is a quick & easy mid-week dinner and a treat to eat. Our daughters have been taking leftovers for school lunches and they are very happy campers indeed.

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Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 45

Servings:

Calories: 863kcal

Author: Nellie Kerrison | Relish Mama

Cost: 15

Equipment

Oven
Frying pan
Pasta pot

Ingredients

Croutons

1/2 loaf of sourdough or ciabatta preferably a day old
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1-2 tablespoons of dried oregano

Pasta sauce & pasta

1.5 kg fresh tomatoes washed
90 ml extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic
500 g Linguine
1 brown onion diced
50 ml Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
300 ml passata home made or great quality store bought
1/2 bunch of fresh basil stems finely chopped and leaves picked
Sea salt
Feshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to serve

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200oC.
For the croutons, warm the oil in a frying pan and add then tear the bread into cubes and add this to the pan. Toss and cook until slightly golden. Add the sea salt & oregano. Toss to combine. Set aside.
Quarter the tomatoes and then use a small spoon to scoop out the watery flesh & seeds. Discard these.
Place the quartered tomatoes & garlic cloves (unpeeled) on a baking tray. Drizzle over 50 ml of the oil & scatter with sea salt. Bake for approx 40-45 minutes.
Cook the pasta until it is slightly less than al dente. Drain (reserve a ladleful of the cooking water).
Sauté the onion & basil stems in a frying pan with the remaining oil until it is aromatic and has softened. Add the vinegar & cook for a minute or two to lift up all the base flavours from the pan.
Add the tomatoes and stir.
Add a few of the fresh basil leaves to help flavour the sauce. These will likely blacken during cooking and you can discard them when serving if they do.
Squeeze the garlic from their skins and add these to the frying pan. Squash them down gently with your cooking spoon.
Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Add the pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente. Use the reserved pasta cooking water if it needs loosening.
Taste again and adjust the salt if necessary.
Transfer to a platter. Add the croutons and remaining fresh basil leaves. Scatter with parmigiano-reggiano, to serve. You may also like to finish it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil & a little freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional).

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