Roasted Tomato with Fennel Rigatoni and Baked Ricotta
A big bowl of cheesy, tomato goodness. The fennel seeds in this recipe bring out the flavour in the sweet tomatoes and add a really welcome twist to a classic. Roasting ricotta is a common practice in Italy that allows the water content in the cheese to slightly evaporate, giving you a richer, slightly crumblier and caramelised take on the standard fresh ricotta. This dish can be made with any pasta you might have that needs to be used up, but the rigatoni is the perfect vessel for all those soft and squishy roasted toms.
Method
Based on 4 servings, adjust as needed.
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Cut all the tomatoes in half and scatter into a baking tray along with half of the olive oil, chopped garlic, fennel seeds and crushed chilli flakes (if you have some and want a little heat). Spoon the ricotta in heaped tablespoons out of the tub and dot over the tomatoes. Roast for 35 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and squashy and the ricotta has taken on a little bit of colour.
Step 2
When the tomatoes are very nearly cooked (with about 15 minutes to go) place a large pan of water on a high heat and add a pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the rigatoni pasta and cook for 10 minutes until al dente. Drain the pasta reserving a splash of the pasta water.
Step 3
Remove the tomatoes and ricotta from the oven and mash with a fork so the tomatoes break up and the ricotta starts to form a sauce in all their juices. NB, Ricotta is naturally grainy in texture and may appear so when it comes out f the oven. NB: If you prefer a smooth sauce to coat your pasta, you could blend the tomatoes and the ricotta to form a sauce at this stage with a little creme fraiche and lemon juice.
Step 4
Stir all the ingredients through the cooked pasta (give it a good stir to encourage a sauce to form) and add the creme fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add the basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a generous amount of grated or shaved parmesan cheese and the remaining olive oil.
- Ingredients
- Based on 4 servings
-
4 tbsp Olive Oil 1x Sainsbury's Olive Oil, Extra Virgin 500ml -
1tsp Chilli Flakes 1x Sainsbury's Crushed Chillies 32g -
650g Baby Plum Tomatoes, halved 2x Sainsbury's Baby Plum Tomatoes 325g -
15g Basil, leaves picked 1x Sainsbury's Fresh Packed Basil 30g -
25g Veggie Hard Cheese, or parmesan 1x Stamford Street Co. Italian Hard Cheese 200g -
3 Cloves Garlic Cloves, peeled and chopped 1x Sainsbury's Garlic -
1tsp Fennel Seeds 1x Sainsbury's Fennel Seed 34g -
400g Rigatoni Pasta 1x Sainsbury's Italian Rigatoni Tubes Pasta 500g -
200g Ricotta 1x Sainsbury's Ricotta Cheese 250g -
4 tbsp Lighter Creme Fraiche 1x Sainsbury's British Lighter Crème Fraîche 300ml -
1 Lemon 1x Sainsbury's Lemons