Watch how it’s made on Instagram
I’m a sucker for pasta pomodoro, and this is what I make when I can’t be bothered to cook. The oven roasts the tomatoes, onion and garlic, the blender does the rest, and lots of Parmesan finishes it.
Serves 3
Prep 10 min
Cook 35 min
The recipe
Per serving · with Parmesan
615 kcal · 21 g protein · 7 g fibre · 19 g fat
Ingredients
For the sauce
1.5 lb700 g mixed tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, cut into wedges
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
To taste salt and black pepper
A large handful fresh basil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
To serve
10.5 oz300 g pasta of your choice
½ cup45 g Parmesan, finely grated
Method
Heat the oven
Heat to 425°F220°C conventional, 200°C fan.Roast
Put the tomatoes, onion and garlic in a roasting tin with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and blistered.Cook the pasta
While the tomatoes roast, cook the pasta in well salted water until al dente. Save a mug of the cooking water before draining.Blend
Squeeze the garlic out of its skins. Blend everything from the tin with the basil and vinegar until smooth, adding a splash of pasta water if it's thick.Toss and serve
Toss the sauce through the pasta and finish with lots of Parmesan.
Make it yours
More protein
Use chickpea or lentil pasta, or stir through a tin of white beans.
Strictly vegetarian
Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese.
Freeze the sauce
Make a double batch and freeze half. It keeps for 3 months.
Worth knowing
Tomatoes and olive oil → cooking tomatoes with fat makes their lycopene easier for your body to absorb than from raw tomatoes.
Pasta → lower on the glycaemic index than most people assume, especially cooked al dente.
Extra virgin olive oil → the backbone of the Mediterranean diet, and most of the fat here.
Vinegar → a small splash lifts the roasted sweetness so the sauce doesn’t taste flat.
So simple and so good. Use the ripest tomatoes you can find and it barely needs anything else.
Nutrition is an estimate based on standard ingredient values, rounded. Your brands will vary a little.
