roasted garlic and tomato pasta

This recipe is so easy and so fresh! Sometimes I use spinach instead of the basil and arugula. This makes a ton, so you can cut the recipe in half or be prepared for leftovers!

1 pound penne pasta
2 pints grape tomatoes
8-10 cloves garlic (cracked but left in skins)
4 tbs or so of e.v. olive oil
2-3 cups of basil & arugula, torn or chopped
a few handfuls of grated Parmesan


preheat oven to 450 and bring a salted pot of water to a boil.

Place the tomatoes and garlic on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Roast for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to wrinkle and brown.

While the tomatoes and garlic are roasting, add pasta to boiling water and cook until almost done. The pasta will continue to cook in the pasta sauce, so you don't want it to get mushy.
Save 1.5 cups of starchy pasta water before draining.

Remove garlic from the skins and mash into a paste with the side of your knife. Transfer the garlic paste to the bottom of a pasta bowl. Using a fork, mix the garlic into the starchy pasta water. Add the tomatoes to the bowl and mash with a potato masher until the tomatoes are well combined with garlic broth. Add penne, grated cheese, arugula and basil and toss a minute or 2 to allow the pasta to soak up flavors.

Enjoy!