Roasted Cherry Tomato Carbonara
On Monday night this week, and purely by chance, Ryan and I made the best pasta dish for dinner – Half Baked Harvest’s Roasted Cherry Tomato Carbonara. Last week, Ryan came home from the grocery store with three pints of cherry tomatoes. (He had misread a recipe that required a 1/3 of a pint of tomatoes when putting together a grocery list.) Needless to say, we had a lot of leftover cherry tomatoes, so when this pasta recipe fortuitously showed up in Half Baked Harvest’s Instagram feed (@halfbakedharvest) late last week I got really excited!
The only ingredient I needed for the recipe was burrata (who loves burrata cheese as much as Ryan and I?!?!) so I biked the few blocks to Metropolitan Market and picked up a container of their burrata cheese. Typically, when I buy burrata I like to purchase it at Trader Joe’s. At $4.99 its half the price of Metropolitan Market and tastes great! However, as often happens in our house (and especially right now during Washington’s quarantine) MM’s proximity won out.
We used basil and parsley from our garden complete with a tiny snail that managed to avoid washing and Ryan found while chopping (gross!) and had this pasta on our dinner plates in about 30 minutes. Weeknight friendly and delicious! The smell coming out of the oven while the tomatoes roasted was heavenly and Sam and Emma loved the pasta (sans tomato and prosciutto). The burrata was an amazing addition on top of the pasta; however, if Trader Joe’s or Metropolitan Market are not simply a few blocks away for you or you are trying to make this recipe a little less decadent, the recipe is still amazing without it.
So, in August or September when you have baby tomatoes coming out your ears because your kids love to plant multiple tomato plants each year, or your partner accidently buys way too many cherry tomatoes at the grocery store, make this pasta!
INGREDIENTS
(6 servings)
- 2 pints heirloom cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used basil and parsley)
- 3 cloves garlic minced or grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 ounces prosciutto thinly sliced
- 4 eggs beaten
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley chopped
- 1 pound of long cut pasta (I used bucatini)
- 8 oz container of burrata (about 2 oz cheese per person)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Add the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, 2 tablespoons from your ½ cup of fresh chopped herbs, garlic and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper to a baking dish. Toss well, making sure the tomatoes are coated in olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the prosciutto to the baking disk on top of tomatoes. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the tomatoes collapse and the prosciutto is crisp.
3. Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, and ¼ cup fresh chopped basil and/or parsley, in large serving bowl. (Note: I actually used two bowls – 3 eggs in one bowl and the remaining egg in another – so my children could have a portion without red pepper flakes. They are sensitive to spice.)
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al dente. Before you drain the pasta scoop out about 1/2 cup pasta water, drain the pasta well. (Raise your hand if you always forget to reserve pasta water!?!?)
5. Immediately add the hot pasta to the egg/cheese mixture, tossing quickly (to ensure the eggs do not scramble) until the eggs thicken and create a sauce. Thin the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches your desired consistency. Add the noodles and sauce into the baking dish with the roasted tomatoes, all the juices from the tomatoes, and crispy prosciutto, and gently toss to combine. Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt.
6. Divide the pasta among plates and top with freshly torn burrata cheese and remaining portion of the ½ cup of chopped fresh herbs.
Recipe Credit: Half Baked Harvest
