Summer Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil

This is a wonderful way to use those beautiful, fresh summer tomatoes that are just bursting with flavor. (And it's so simple, it's more a process than a recipe!) Don't let the amount of garlic worry you - it mellows as it cooks.


Ingredients:



  • 1 box pasta of choice*

  • 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 10 - 12 cloves of garlic, sliced

  • 3 cups diced fresh tomato (or use grape or cherry tomatoes)

  • 1/4 cup fresh basil (green or purple), chopped

  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

  • fresh ground sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

  • nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan to garnish (optional)


Preparation:



  1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil over low-medium heat. When it is warm, add the garlic. Stir constantly and keep the heat low - you don't want the garlic to burn!

  2. After a couple of minutes, add the tomatoes and stir to coat everything with olive oil.

  3. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and cover.

  4. In the meantime, get the pasta going in a stock pot.

  5. While the pasta is cooking, stir the veggies every few minutes, and cook until the tomatoes shrivel a bit - or, if they are whole, they begin to burst.

  6. Remove the veggies from the heat and cover them.

  7. Finish cooking the pasta, strain it, and return it to the pot.

  8. Add pasta to the veggie mixture - start with about 3 cups, add more if needed (and see note below) - and stir to combine.

  9. When you're happy with your veggie-to-pasta ratio, add fresh basil, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine.

  10. Garnish with extra basil and/or  Walnut Parmesan if you'd like, and enjoy!



Notes:


*I did not use the whole box of pasta for this recipe. This amount of tomato/garlic mixture will serve two people, or one REALLY hungry person! I usually cook a whole box of pasta at a time and save the leftovers for pasta salad or other dishes.

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