Farmers Market Fresh Tomato Pasta

It’s tomato time. Yay for some, nay for others. I myself have always been a fan of this most scandalously colored of fruits, but I can understand when people don’t like tomatoes; I just figure they are extra-sensitive to poison. Poison? Tomatoes? Relax, gentle readers, it’s just the vine that’s poisonous.

I’m sure most of you smartypantses out there already know this but tomatoes are in the nightshade family, closely related not only to some of our other favorite foods like potatoes, eggplants, and peppers, but also things we’re less fond of finding in our mouths like deadly nightshade, jimson weed, and tobacco.

Anyway, done scaring you but I’ve got even more nerdy tomato-or-poison facts. Tomatoes originated somewhere in South America and were introduced to Europe in the 16th century. At first the plant was believed poisonous and grown for decorative purposes only, taking over a century for starving Europeans to catch on that tammy’s are better cultivated for their delicious and versatile fruits than for lookin’ pretty. It took skeptical Americans another 100 years to catch the trend and in fact, the progressive and continental Thomas Jefferson once ate a tomato in public just to prove that it was safe. People fainted. Swear.

Ok, end facts. I’ve been noticing a lot of yummy tomato recipes around the blogs lately, no doubt inspired by the current tomato bounty. The first one that caught my eye was from fellow Brooklynite Chris, who made big batch of tomato sauce. And then a fresh sauce idea from Mario Batali via the excellent Amateur Gourmet. And then a simple Baked Parmesan Tomatoes from Alanna at Veggie Venture. Yum! And, if you’re not done yet, check out this extensive list of tomato recipes collected by Sam Breach at Blogher. And heirloom tomato craziness as blogged by Slashfoods!

But Rae at Bunnyfoot really jumpstarted my tastebuds with this recipe for Pasta with Raw Tomatoes, Basil and Garlic. It happens to pretty much outline my very favorite way to use fresh tomatoes. I do just two things differently: I prefer a chunkier pasta and like to use small grape or cherry tomatoes. I feel that, on average, the little tomatoes are sweeter and tastier, and you also get to eat more of the tomato skins, which - from what I understand - have more of the antioxidants.

Serves: 4
Time: less than 30 minutes

Farmers Market Fresh Tomato Pasta

1 lb chunky pasta (I used mezzi rigatoni but any kind of pasta would work)
2 (or more!) pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
large bunch of shredded basil leaves
As much olive oil as you can bear
A few cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Couldn’t be easier: Cook your pasta and drain. While it’s still hot, add the rest of the ingredients. Top with some grated Parm if you’d like, but it isn’t necessary. The beauty of dish is in its simplicity.

To get you even more in the lusty red (and orange and yellow) tomato spirit, here are some snaps from my local Brooklyn Farmer’s Market in Williamsburg’s McCarren Park:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 15th, 2006 at 9:53 pm and is filed under Pasta, Pizzas, & Grains, Williamsburg, Summer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.