Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Pasta With Blistered Cherry Tomato Sauce


 

There's a recipe for every mood. Sure, sometimes I want to spend hours lingering over a perfect slow-cooked red sauce or hearty lasagna Napoletana, but there are also days when I get home late and just need to get a filling dinner on the table, fast. 

 Pasta is a natural solution on those occasions, and luckily, we have lots of pasta recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, from Italian classics like cacio e pepe and spaghetti puttanesca to stovetop baked ziti and a fresh take on tuna noodle casserole. 

For a delicious pasta dinner that's doable on a weeknight, check out 27 of our favorite quick and easy pasta recipes, below. Here's a pro tip for those who want to get the job done even sooner: You don't have to heat up a huge pot of water. 

Using a skillet and just enough water to cover the noodles is a better way to get water boiling fast, while the extra starchiness in a smaller volume of pasta water will help you achieve a more emulsified sauce.

Cherry tomatoes are almost always sweeter, riper, and higher in pectin than larger tomatoes at the supermarket. All of these factors mean that cherry tomatoes are fantastic for making a rich, thick, flavorful pasta sauce. 

Even better: It takes only four ingredients and about 10 minutes, start to finish—less time than it takes to cook the pasta you're gonna serve it with.

Cherry tomatoes are extra sweet and have plenty of pectin, making them great for a fast and easy sauce. The sauce cooks down in the same amount of time it takes to boil pasta, for a quick and easy fresh meal.

INGREDIENTS:


For the blistered cherry tomatoes 

 12 cups tiny, sweet cherry tomatoes, such as Sun Gold 

6 cloves garlic, lightly smashed 

Extra-virgin olive oil, for roasting 

 Coarse salt to taste 

For the pasta 

 1 lb penne pasta 

2 generous cups Blistered Cherry Tomatoes 

6 cobs corn 

Handful torn fresh basil leaves Grated Parmesan, for serving.

DIRECTIONS:


For the blistered cherry tomatoes 

 1 Heat the oven to 425°F. Place the tomatoes onto two heavy rimmed baking sheets or roasting pans; they should fit in a single layer (if not, add a third pan). Add the garlic. Pour a generous layer of olive oil over the tomatoes, enough so that a thin layer of oil pools in the baking sheet. Season generously with salt. Bake until the tomatoes are blistered and deflated and release their juices, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, discard the garlic, and let cool. Make sure to save all the oily juices! Store in a container in the fridge for up to 10 days. 

 Makes: 4 to 6 cups 

 For the pasta 

 1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the penne until al dente, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the Blistered Cherry Tomatoes over medium heat in a saucepan, then pour them into a large serving bowl. Cut the corn from the cobs and add it to the tomatoes. 

 2. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water, and add it to the tomatoes and corn. Fold it all together – the heat of the pasta should soften the corn, and the tomato juices should blanket the pasta like a salad dressing. If it’s at all dry, add a little oil and some pasta water. Stir in the basil. Serve the pasta in wide, shallow bowls and pass the Parmesan at the table. 

 Serves: 4

ENJOY!


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Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






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