Roasted tomato, spinach & basil pasta – Under 15 minutes meal

I haven’t posted any Pasta recipe for long. I have been indulging into them of course, every week once or twice at least. Being a super fan of Italian food and cheese. But I mostly prepare it for dinner and by the time its ready I am not remained with high levels of patience and so I finish it up instantly. 

How to cook Pasta perfectly and find out the best basic pasta sauce recipe 

I love experimenting with Pasta dishes, and since I have been on a no cheese spree for a long time (one week does count as a long time, right!) I have skipped that in this version too. I had roasted some tomatoes for an Indian dish – Litti Chokha over the weekend and so I had a small batch remaining from the lot. I used those roasted tomatoes to whip into this super tasty pasta sauce and gobbled up all before it was even proper dinner time. It was so. damn. tasty. 

I have this habit of including bits of spinach in everything I make. Well, that’s how I finish up my 500 gms of pack every week. so anyway, I ended up adding some to this too, along with some basil. The roasted tomatoes’ flavour blends very well with these greens and of course levels up the nutrition too. The quantity of Olive oil is slightly higher than what I otherwise use for Pasta but then that’s also because of the absence of cheese. So that makes this pasta really smooth and delectable. 

And the best part is, it doesn’t take more than 15 minutes to get it ready. Excluding the roasting time obviously. But then you may use the canned roasted tomatoes and that would make your job even easier. 

More Italian dishes-> Spinach and cheese Risotto | 15 minutes Vegetable noodle pasta | Broccoli Mac n cheese | Gnocchi  in Indian curry sauce 

 

What you need?

• 1 cup pasta, I have used Fusilli
• 7-8 cherry tomatoes OR 1-2 medium vine tomatoes
• 2 cups spinach leaves, chopped  
• A handful of fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp cooking Olive oil
• 2 tsp extra virgin Olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper as per taste

 

How to make? 

To roast tomatoes- Halve each of the tomatoes and toss them in a bowl with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper and make sure the tomatoes are well coated with spices and oil. Spread the tomatoes on the baking sheet cut side down. Roast them at 300ºF (150 Celcius) for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have released their juices and turned a lovely dark red. At this point turn the oven temperature up to 350ºF (200 Celcius). Bake for just 5 minutes more and then set aside.

Prepare the pasta – Boil water with salt in a pan, and add pasta to it. Cook as per instructions for 8-10 minutes. Drain but do not rinse.

Make the sauce-  Heat oil in a pan, add minced garlic and saute for few seconds. Add raw spinach, cook for a few minutes until wilted. In the same pan, add roasted tomatoes and mix. Toss in drained pasta with basil and toss everything together, season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil when serving. 

 

Notes:

Like I have mentioned, you may use store bought canned roasted tomatoes and they would work as good. Only that they will be dipped in oil on  their own so you might need to reduce the quantity of oil

You may use some other dried herbs like thyme, basil, oregano etc. to spice up the pasta

Although this is a vegan pasta recipe, you may add parmesan cheese freshly grated on top if you like.

If you are into Pastas like me, try this super easy One pot Spaghetti pasta in rich tomato sauce, which is vegan and very nutritious.