Our Friday Night Pasta Fare

This is our go-to Friday night dinner in preparation for a weekend of longer training sessions. Elegant enough for company but easy enough to throw together at the last minute. We enjoy it with a piece of fresh ciabatta bread from the local Italian bakery. Perfect for sopping up every last drop. Yum!

Makes 2 generous portions

1 to 1 1/2 containers cherry or grape tomatoes
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch rapini
1-2 tbsp. Perfect Plant Pesto (recipe on this wall)
2 tbsp. chopped sun-dried tomato (in olive oil) – optional
2 cups dried pasta (non-egg)
1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp ground pepper for tomatoes
2 tbsp. salt for pasta water
Additional salt and pepper to taste (add just before serving)

Preheat oven to 375F/190C
Cut off tough ends of rapini. Roughly bunch chop rapini into bite-size pieces.

Fill a large pot with 8-10 cups of water (about 3/4 full). Add 2 tbsp. salt and bring to a boil.
In the meantime, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Slice cherry tomatoes in half and place in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil to coat tomatoes and pour onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast tomatoes at 375F/190C for ~10 minutes, until tomatoes are soft and bubbling.

At the same time, add pasta and chopped rappini to boiling water (this is the trick to getting delicious, not bitter, rappini). Cook on medium-high for 10-12 minutes (or according to package directions), until pasta is al dente.

Drain pasta and rapini very well (do not rinse), then add back to the emptied pot. Add the roasted tomatoes, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes (if using) and stir until combined. Salt and pepper to taste.

For extra flavor, sprinkle with a little **Plant Parmesan Cheese (stay tuned for the recipe)