I usually purchase locally grown tomatoes at the farm market, and usually large tomatoes rather than grape or cherry tomatoes, because they're less expensive. I bought these for a company lunch though, because I didn't have time to go to the market, and because I know they are consistently flavourful and sweet.
Turned out I needn't have bothered. My wee tomatoes sat on the platter virtually untouched and that, in its turn, turned out to be a good thing. I found myself in need of a very quick supper later in the week and those grape tomatoes provided the foundation for the meal.
I made a simple, fresh spaghetti dish. The whole meal was assembled in the time it took to cook the pasta, and it was delicious.
Here's the recipe:
- 8 ounces spaghetti (I used rice pasta but any spaghetti you like will be fine)
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups diced zucchini (1/2-inch dice)
- 1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
- dried oregano to taste (I used about 3/4 teaspoon)
- salt and pepper to taste
Cook the spaghetti in boiling, liberally salted water, according to package directions.
While the spaghetti is cooking, saute the zucchini in the olive oil. Cook it until it's tender crisp and has taken on a little colour.
Add in the tomatoes, some dried oregano, and 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water. Cook the tomatoes until they're heated through and have begun to break down just a little bit.
Drain the spaghetti while it's still quite al dente, with a couple of minutes cooking time left. Reserve a little more of the pasta cooking water, just in case.
Stir the drained pasta into the sauteed vegetables. Continue cooking, adding more pasta cooking water if needed to keep the noodles moist, until the pasta is done.
Season the dish to taste with salt and pepper and serve it right away, while it's still piping hot.
