Fresh Cherry Tomato and Pesto Pasta Recipe

This is a great side that is not complicated to make.  It goes great with Italian food and you can turn it into a meal by putting roast chicken breast on top.  The recipe serves 4 and takes about 30 minutes to make.  10 minutes of prep and about 20 minutes to cook.  It is also a little festive with the red and green colour combination of the ingredients.

Fresh Cherry Tomato and Pesto Pasta

Fresh Tomato and Pesto Pasta Recipe
Ingredients:
	12ox (375g) Penne
	2 TBSP All-Purpose Flour
	2 Cups (500ml) milk
	1/3 Cup prepared Basil Pesto
	1/4 TSP Salt
	1/2 TSP Pepper
	2 Cups (500ml) Grape or Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
	1 TBSP Grated Parmesan Cheese
	Fresh Basil Leaves
Steps:
	1) In a large pot cook pasta as instructed on box
	2) In bowl or large measuring glass combine cold milk with flour; whisk together well.
	3) Drain pasta and return to pot on medium heat.  Add flour and milk mixture and pesto.
	4) Stir frequently and cook for 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
	5) Season with salt, pepper and add tomatoes; cook till hot throughout.
	6) Garnish on plate or serving dish with parmesan and basil leaves.
Serve hot and immediately.

Ingredients for Fresh Cherry Tomato and Pesto Pasta

Prep work completed

Step 3 and 4 - Pasta Cooking with Pesto and Flour and Milk mixutre

Step 5 - Adding Tomatoes to Pasta with the Sauce now thickened

The Finished Product

Substitutions and Additions:

• You can cut out the salt in the recipe; as the parmesan already has plenty.
• You can add sliced pieces of roasted chicken breast on top to make this side into a main.
•  For added color and saltiness add sliced cured black olives.
•  For a spicier pasta add a 1/2 tsp of chili flakes when adding the pesto. 

What I've learned in making this pasta:

• It tastes far better with freshly grated parmesan than parmesan from the tube.  Saying that parmesan from grated by the cheese counter does taste better than the tube as well.

• I can not tell the difference in parmesan from Canada and Italy.  So, I don't why people will pay 3x the price for the cheese. 

Thoughts, comments or suggestions?  Please add them below.

Spicy Bucatini with Bacon Recipe

This is a tasty recipe that I have modified for the "servant-less" kitchen and the fact that pancetta costs 4 times more than the tastiest of meats known as bacon.  Like Homer, I'm amazed that bacon, ham and pork all come from one magical animal.  This recipe is perfect for any Pastafarian:

Spicy Bucatini with Bacon

This recipe makes two dinner size portions as a main entree or 4 portions as a side.  I'd suggest serving this with a glass of Chianti and a great starter prior to this is my White Cannelini Bean soup.  This recipe takes about 45 minutes to make and is best served immediately.  You can roast the tomatoes and bacon earlier in the day if necessary.  

Spicy Bucatini with Bacon
Ingredients:
	2 Cups Cherry/Grape Tomatoes halved
	2 TBSP Olive Oil
	1 Pinch Pepper
	4 Strips of Sodium Reduced Bacon
	2 Cloves Garlic minced
	1/2 TSP Hot Pepper Flakes
	6 Kalamata Olives, pitted and Coarsely Chopped
	6oz (170grams) Bucatini Pasta
	2 TSBP Coarsely Chopped Fresh Basil
	1 TBSP Grated Parmesan Cheese
Steps:
	1) Pre-Heat oven to 325 Degrees.
	2) In a small bowl, toss together tomatoes, olive oil and pinch of pepper.
	3) Place tomatoes cut side up on foil lined baking sheet (or non-stick) and bake tomatoes for 25 minutes until shriveled and starting to brown.
	4) Meanwhile, boil a large pot of salted water and add pasta approx 10 minutes before tomatoes are expected to be ready.
	5) In a non-stick fry pan, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp about 6 minutes.  Remove bacon and set aside.
	6) Drain excess bacon grease.  Add garlic, black olives and chili flakes.  Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
	7) Combine fry pan with drained pasta, and roast tomatoes.  Toss in basil.
	8) Split pasta on two dishes.  Sprinkle with bacon and Parmesan cheese.

Substitutions:

• The original recipe calls for 3 oz of pancetta diced.  Bacon works fine and cost 1/4 of the price.  Pancetta is salted and smoked pork belly.  
• You can add another 1/4 tsp of chili flakes if you prefer the dish hot rather than a medium spice.
• I tried this recipe with Penne once and it worked.  But, I would use Bucatini or Tagliatelle as my second choice.  Bucatini I have found both at Longo's and Loblaws, but prior to this recipe I never had it before.

Ingredients for Spicy Bucatini with Bacon

Step 2 - Getting Tomatoes ready to Roast 

Step 2 and 5 - Frying the Bacon and Tomatoes Ready to go in the Oven

Measuring the amount of Bucatini Pasta Required

Step 6 - Frying Chili Flakes, Black Olives and Minced Garlic.

Step 7 - Finishing the Pasta

Step 8 - Pasta plated and served.

What I learned:

• Pasta need not have a tomato or cream sauce.  Roasted vegetables and other toppings can beautifully punctuate pasta.
• Olives taste best packed in oil and out of jar.  Canned olives have a tinny taste and a different texture.  Further, olives in a jar taste better if you pit them yourself, rather than get pre-sliced.  Oxo sells for reasonable price a cherry and olive pitter that is dishwasher friendly.
• A kitchen scale is great for measuring quantities by weight (grams, ounces and lbs.) Make sure it has a tare function.