Sweet Cherry Tomato Basil Pesto Sauce on Farfalle Pasta

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Tiny little tomatoes!  "Sweet 100" tomatoes!  We just can't get enough of these little red rubies in the garden!  We planted only one plant of this variety last year and loved them SO much, that we planted four plants this year.  Oh my goodness, what was I even thinking about?  I'm going to have to back off next year, because this variety is true to its name:  Very SWEET and continually bearing hundreds of little tomatoes.  The plants grew so fast, and with so many on each plant, that the tomatoes are dropping off faster than I can keep up with harvesting them.  I've been giving them to friends though, as well as our dogs who love them as a snack (our vet approves too).  I've already made three batches of this sauce and several other standby recipes (look under tomatoes on the sidebar), and those tomato plants are still producing these little guys!

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This recipe requires roasting the tomatoes which really enhances their sweetness and brings out their flavor!  You don't have to peel them either which keeps things very simple!  While the roasting is going on in the oven (or on the grill inside a veggie basket) you prepare a quick and easy basil pesto sauce to toss the cooked tomatoes in.  Then toss on top of your favorite pasta and serve!  DONE in no time at all!

This recipe is extremely versatile as well.  Not only can you serve this as an entree/main dish, but you can also serve it as a side dish, AND as an appetizer on top of crostini as you would do with bruschetta.  You can make this ahead of time as well for any of the above situations and that's a big plus! 

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Tomatoes growing nearly out of control on the vine!

One or two of the basil crop in the garden

Just one morning's harvest . . . seriously, just one.  This amount is picked daily!

Sweet Cherry Tomato - Basil Pesto Sauce on Farfalle Pasta

1  - 2 pounds fresh, ripe red cherry tomatoes (we use Sweet 100's)

1 - 2 tsp. olive oil

Sea salt

20 - 30 leaves fresh basil

2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Pour olive oil onto a baking pan.  

Place the cherry tomatoes on the baking pan and roll them around to coat the tomatoes.

Sprinkle the sea salt lightly over the tomatoes.

Roast the tomato/olive oil/sea salt mixture in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, have a deep pot of water boiling to cook your pasta.  

Cook pasta in the boiling water for the amount of time necessary for 'al dente' doneness.

While the tomatoes are roasting in the oven, prepare the basil sauce.

In a mini food processor, chop up the basil leaves (stems removed).

Add the garlic, olive oil, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Chop for another 30 seconds.

Put the warm roasted tomatoes in a large fry pan.

Add the basil/pesto sauce to the tomatoes in the pan.

Blend gently.

Drain cooked pasta.

Place in a pretty serving dish.

Pour the tomato/basil sauce on top.

Garnish and serve!

On a baking sheet, pour olive oil to coat it, then put your tomatoes on top and give them a swirl to dress them with the olive oil.

Aren't they beautiful?

Chop up the basil (in a mini food processor here), add olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic.

Pour the basil pesto sauce onto the roasted tomatoes in a large frying pan.  Cook on medium for only enough time to heat the basil/pesto sauce through.

Mix it all up during the cooking process.

Serve over your favorite pasta shape......I used farfalle (bow ties) for this dish.
Just beautiful color!  The aroma of this is just incredible too!.

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