cooking.nytimes.com

Penne With Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

5.0(2420)

This exquisitely simple recipe came to The Times in a 2001 article about Paola di Mauro, an Italian winemaker in Marina, a small town southeast of Rome. She was one of a band of cooks who helped distinguish "cucina casalinga," roughly translated as "housewives' cooking." From her humble kitchen, Ms. di Mauro mentored some of the best Italian chefs and restaurateurs in the United States, including Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, Piero Selvaggio and Tony May. Her recipe is easy and calls for just five ingredients – cherry tomatoes, olive oil, pecorino romano and penne pasta – but get your hands on the best ingredients you can afford. Ms. di Mauro intended this to serve four as a first course, but if you're making this for dinner, double the recipe.

by Amanda Hesser

Open original recipe

ItalianDinner, Pastas, Main Course

Servings

(2–4)

Total time

35 min

Calories / serving

525 kcal

Ingredients (7)

serves

1 pound small cherry tomatoes, halvedcherry-tomato
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 to 3 tablespoons for tossingextra-virgin-olive-oil
Sea saltsalt
Freshly ground black pepperpepper
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano, more for servingpecorino
1/4 cup bread crumbsbread-crumbs
1/2 pound penne

Instructions (2 steps)

01Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line bottom of casserole dish with cherry tomatoes in a single layer, halved side up. Pour oil on top, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese and bread crumbs on top. Bake until tomatoes have wilted, about 20 minutes.
02Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with enough sea salt so that water tastes mildly of salt. When tomatoes are just about done, add penne to water and cook until al dente (it should be pliable, but still firm in center). Scoop out about a cup of pasta water and reserve. Drain pasta and add to casserole. Fold tomatoes and pasta together, adding another 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning. If it is dry, add a little reserved pasta water. Serve, passing more grated cheese at the table.