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ROASTED TOMATOES AND SPINACH ORZO
Use orzo or trofie pasta for a hearty meal with minimum ingredients and maximum flavor. Available year-round, blistered roasted cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, garlic, and baby spinach, sauté up for a delicious light sauce with a tender bite.
INGREDIENTS
Splash of olive oil
1-pint cherry tomatoes, halved
4 whole sprigs fresh thyme
8 oz/224 g uncooked trofie pasta or angel hair pasta
1 tbsp/15 ml olive oil
1 tbsp/15 ml plant-based butter
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, to taste
1 tbsp/15 fresh thyme, chopped
2tbsps/15 ml fresh basil, chopped
2-2 ½ cups /500-625 ml vegetable stock, heated
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups/500 ml fresh baby spinach
Optional: pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste
METHOD
Drizzle the halved cherry tomatoes with olive oil. Place cut side down on a sheet pan. Roast in a preheated 350°F/176°C oven until the tomato skins blister, about 30 minutes.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orzo or trofie pasta until slightly tender. Drain the pasta, pour it back into the empty pot, and put the lid on to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over low heat. Sauté onions until golden brown. Add the garlic and blistered cherry tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes stick to the pan. Deglaze the pan by adding ½ cup/125 ml of the 2 ½ cups/625 ml of heated vegetable stock at a time. Reduce by half before adding more stock. The stock will absorb the flavorful bits from the bottom of the pan as it reduces. Repeat for the balance of the stock.
Add the thyme and basil and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked pasta and baby spinach and cook wilted for about 5 minutes. Stir to combine and heat until piping hot.
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