Tomato-Feta Spaghetti

This is a great dish from Cooking Light's Way to Cook Vegetarian. Now I'll be honest in that I am far from vegetarian, but this cookbook that I checked out from the library had some good-looking recipes. Plus, in the case of this particular recipe, I'm a sucker for the classic tomato and basil combination.

The spaghetti recipe really is simple. Just roast halved grape tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or until tomatoes collapse. Cook pasta as usual, reserving some of the pasta water when draining. Return pasta and some reserved liquid to a large pan. Stir in tomatoes, a little more olive oil, salt, fresh basil, ground black pepper, and crumbled feta cheese.

The recipe actually called for ricotta salata cheese, crumbled, but we just used feta because it was what we could find at the store. The feta was really great, but I'm sure ricotta would be also.

I really like roasting or sauteing tomatoes because of the way they collapse, releasing all their juices. When mixed in with pasta, they create a sauce of their own. And they are just so much sweeter when heated up.

Another quick weeknight meal posted. And a good one at that. Cheers.