Roast Cherry Tomato Pici
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Cling film
- Roasting tray
- Weighing scales
- Large pan
- Colander
- Tongs
- Grater
Ingredients
- 600 g cherry tomatoes
- 1 garlic whole bulb, cloves separated and left unpeeled
- 1 handful fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 100g burrata roughly torn
- 50 g Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 handful fresh basil to serve
For the pici
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 240 ml water lukewarm
Instructions
- Make the pici. In a bowl, mix the flour, oil and salt with 240ml lukewarm water to bring it together into a dough (you may not need all of it).
- Shape into a ball and knead for 5–10 minutes until smooth. Press into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes (or overnight if you want to get ahead).
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°/180°C/400°F/Gas 6. Toss the tomatoes, garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, chilli flakes and olive oil in a roasting tray, season well and roast for 30–45 minutes until tender and broken down.
- Slip the garlic cloves out of their papery skins and remove and discard the thyme sprigs, then mash everything together with a fork.
- Meanwhile, press the dough into a flat rectangle and cut into pieces each about 15g each. Keep them under a damp tea towel while you work. With lightly oiled hands, roll each piece out into long noodles, about the thickness of a straw or biro.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the wiggly pici for 4–5 minutes. Drain and return to the pan, then toss with the tomato sauce over a low heat.
- Serve with the burrata, plenty of Parmesan, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and some torn basil leaves.
Notes
This started as a cheap dinner for two but now it's become a staple part of our regular weeknight family meals. The idea is to roast sweet cherry tomatoes and garlic until their flavour intensifies and then press together with a fork in the roasting tray to create the perfect coating for freshly cooked pasta. In this version, we make our own pici, one of the easiest pastas to make which can be made in the time the sauce cooks.
Nutrition
Serving: 4gCalories: 724kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!