Roasted Tomatoes and Caramelized Onions Make Pasta Special
I know, it’s a crazy-busy time of year. We are all running around trying to get things done, as the temperature drops and it gets dark earlier and earlier. It’s disturbingly easy to take refuge in bad choices, and comfort yourself with fast food and snacks. For the sake of your sanity and your health, don’t fall into that trap. Make yourself some of this lush, deeply flavorful pasta, topped with crunchy, lightly salted nuts. Farfalle with Roasted Tomatoes and Pistachios is the answer to your Sunday dinner dilemma.
Making good choices is easy, and if you put a handful of chopped pistachios and a generous pour of olive oil over some pasta, your heart will sing.
Pasta for Winter Fuel
I won’t pretend this is an instant, quick, super fast meal. It takes a little time to caramelize the onions and roast the tomatoes. It’s hands-off time, and the oven warms the kitchen. The scent of fresh thyme and garlic wafts through the air. You’ll feel good about making this, I promise.
Grape Tomatoes are the Best in Winter
Once tomato season ends, my go-to is always the Grape tomato. Somehow these little gems still pack real tomato flavor, when full-sized tomatoes have become washed out, flavorless props. The petite grape-shaped beauties are allowed to fully ripen on the vine, not shipped green, so all the chemistry that we need to happen has developed real flavor. Amp it up even more by throwing them in the oven, to sweeten and concentrate the juices.
Pistachios coat the pasta, then top the dish at serving!
Use Fresh Herbs to Take it Up a Notch
Fresh thyme will slowly infuse the oil and the juices of the vegetables, so the pasta is coated with herby goodness. Instead of the fresh pop of summery basil, you’ll get a complex, slightly musky effect that balances the sweet tomatoes and caramelized onions.
Chopped Nuts for the Win!
But the moment when you win the week is when you load it up with toasted, salted, chopped pistachios. Who needs cheese, when you have nuts? You’ll get all the richness you crave in a pasta from the healthful olive oil, and the crunchy, nutty pistachios are irresistible. Sure, they add protein and healthful fats and fiber, but who cares? It feels like a decadent treat.
Butter-soft Grape tomatoes and caramelized onions make it unforgettable.
You Deserve Comfort
Comfort yourself with pasta. Just make sure your pasta has tons of plants in it, and you can feel good about eating something so enjoyable.
Stay Warm and Eat More Plants!
Farfalle with Roasted Tomatoes and Pistachios
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil to taste
- 2 large onions slivered
- 3 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme coarsely chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
- 3 cloves garlic choppped
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 pound farfalle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Put on a big pot of water to boil for the pasta.In a 12-inch skillet, warm a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, and add the onions. Stir until it starts to sizzle, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 hours.
- In a metal roasting pan, combine the tomatoes, thyme and garlic and drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add a sprinkle of the salt. Roast for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have burst and are browned in spots. Stir int he onions and keep warm.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions, about 13 minutes. While the pasta cooks, chop the pistachios and place in a small saute pan with another good pinch of the salt. Place over medium heat and swirl until the nuts are fragrant and lightly toasted. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
- Drain the pasta and put the pot back on the stove. Add the remaining olive oil and half of the pistachios and toss to coat. Serve the pasta with the tomato mixture on top, and sprinkle with remaining pistachios.
