Tomato, basil and ricotta pasta Updated in September 2023

Ingredients

• 500 g vine tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, in halves
• 300 g fusilli, or penne
• 1 bunch basil, or 1/2 cup before chopping
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch salt
• pepper
• Ricotta, for serving

Preparation

1. Begin boiling salted water for the pasta.
2. While the pasta is cooking, cook the garlic in olive oil until fragrant.
3. Add the tomatoes and a generous pinch of salt. Cook covered until the tomatoes peel off and become slightly mushy - about 10 minutes. Add pasta water as necessary.
4. While the sauce is simmering, cook the fusilli. This takes around 10 minutes.
5. Add pepper, butter and chopped basil.
6. Mix into a chunky sauce, adding pasta water as needed, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes longer.
7. Serve sauce on top of pasta with a dollop of ricotta (optional)

This is a simple, tasty weekday recipe. It’s much better in the summer, when you can find juicy vine tomatoes (Rispentomaten) and use some of your own basil. The ricotta is entirely optional. I stopped adding it because I end up wasting what’s left of it.

This recipe is adapted from the original one on Budget Bytes. Mine produces a little more sauce, but the original is also excellent.