… a work in progress

My recipe for a roasted tomato pasta, a light “sauceless” version. I make this all the time and it’s usually pretty consistent so I thought I’d write it up. It’s really really hard to mess this up, the most important is cooking the pasta perfectly and seasoning to taste. Taste throughout the process. Cooking the other items and bit longer or shorter doesn’t mess things up too much.The roasted tomatoes give it an intense flavor. I typically do not measure things when I cook, below are my estimates. This serves 2-4 people.

What you’ll need:

• 1/4 Pound Roasted Tomatoes In Olive Oil (I buy mine in the deli at Marczyk Fine Foods in Denver)
• 1 Ripe Tomato - Diced
• 4-5 Slices Of Good Bacon - Diced
• 1/2 Pound (about 1/2 a package) of good spaghetti. I personally like Sclafani or Barilla.
• 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
• 2-3 Cloves of Garlic - Fine Chopped
• Italian Parsley - Fine Chopped
• Red Pepper Flakes - Pinch
• Sea Salt - To Taste
• Black Pepper - To Taste
• Olive Oil
• Optional: 1 Zucchini Julienne or some Asparagus. 1/2 Freshly Squeezed Lemon, Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• **All of the above are estimates, more tomato, roasted tomato or bacon won’t hurt it, it’ll just be more hearty**

1. Prep all of the veggies beforehand, makes it easier.
2. Start cooking the pasta, remove and drain approx 1 minute before al dente
3. While the pasta is cooking on a med-hi heat cook up that bacon. Remove from heat right when it starts to get crispy. Paper towel dry.
4. About 3 minutes before the pasta is ready heat up a saute pan on medium to medium-hi heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some red pepper flakes. A good pinch will do, add more if you like things spicy. Cook that red pepper flakes for about 30 seconds to release the flavor.
5. Add the garlic and cook for 15-30 seconds making sure not to burn it.
6. Add the diced ripe tomato. You can now also add the optional julienne zucchini or asparagus. Cook for about 1 minute on medium hi heat.
7. Add the roasted tomatoes. At time I also add the salt and pepper.
8. When the pasta is almost al dente, add the drained pasta to the saute pan and stir.
9. Mix well and add the chicken stock and season again with salt to taste.
10. Add the Italian parsley and diced bacon at the end. Optional lemon juice can be added.
11. Toss everything on a high heat for about 1 minute and serve.
12. Grated Parmigiano Reggiano can be added at the end.

NOTES: For a vegetarian version the bacon can be omitted and the chicken stock can be substituted with pasta water. Multigrain spaghetti never seems to work, I don’t recommend. It always seems to have a weird “grainyness” to dishes. Penne pasta works with this as well. An anchovy or two can be added at step 5 to give the dish an even more intense flavor.