pasta al fresco

Guess those rain clouds read the blog yesterday because this afternoon the weather was gorgeous – nice enough to eat dinner outside (!)

The husband and I were both ravenous and somewhat impatient (okay… maybe that was just me), so I turned to a never fail meal:

Roasted Tomato & Avocado Pasta

feeds two very hungry adults

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Materials

Sauce

• 1 avocado
• 1 cup basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon each of thyme, rosemary & oregano
• 3-5 tablespoons of olive oil

Pasta & Tomatoes

• 6 ounces of soba (buckwheat) noodles
• 2 lovely ripe tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice tomatoes into ~1/2 inch slices and place on lightly oiled baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and dried basil, if desired.

2. Roast for 45-50 minutes, until tomatoes have crisped around the edges.  Slide a spatula underneath about halfway through to ensure they don’t stick.

3. Throw sauce ingredients (avocado, basil, spices, garlic & oil) into blender and process until smooth.

5. Add soba noodles to boiling water and cook for ~3 minutes then drain and rinse with cold water.

6. Toss noodles and sauce together then plate up: place roasted tomatoes on top of pasta and enjoy immediately!

Notes

You can dice the tomatoes if you’d rather not have whole slices.  Also, the intensity of the garlic depends on how fresh it is – if you’re not a big garlic fan, use the smallest clove you have.

Results & Conclusions

Creamy and rich yet still refreshing all at the same time…deeeelicious!