Intensely Flavored Pasta Dish that Satisfies on All Levels is Truly a Thing of Beauty.
It’s no secret that I love citrus of all kinds. When thinking about what to have for dinner, and seeing as I had a couple pints of grape tomatoes and some cara cara oranges on hand, I opted to roast them together on one large sheet pan, along with some seasonings, oil and little vinegar. Roasting the fruit intensifies its flavor and the tomatoes and oranges combine beautifully.
After tossing the roasted fruits with cooked casarecce pasta (one of my favorite pasta shapes) I added some chopped flat leaf parsley, and topped it with shredded ricotta salada.
I still thought it needed a hit of something crisp, so I sprinkled on some crispy shallots. I always keep a jar on hand. They come in so handy for garnishing different kinds of dishes and are readily available online if you don’t live near a Southeast Asian market.
Deciding it still needed something bright, I supremed an orange and added a couple segments to each serving, along with a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper. Now we were talking.
A one dish meal that satisfies on all levels. My kind of food
Casarecce with Roasted Tomatoes and Roasted Oranges
6
servingsLots of grape tomatoes are roasted with sliced oranges, tossed with casarecce pasta, topped with ricotta salada, and crispy fried shallots. This pasta dish has to be tasted to be believed. It's one of those recipes where the end result is so much more than the individual ingredients.
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Ingredients
3 pints grape tomatoes, sliced in half
2 whole cara cara oranges, one sliced in 3/8 inch thick slices, the other cut into supremes (Slice off all the peel, leaving no white pith. Cut between the membranes to release segments)
1 medium shallot, sliced thin
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Several good grinds black pepper
Salt
1 pound casarecce, or short pasta shape of your choice
1 handful chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup coarsely grated, ricotta salada
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
1/2 cup crispy shallots
Aleppo pepper
Directions
- Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, toss shallots with 1 teaspoon oil; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, gently toss tomatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, vinegar, and garlic. Spread in an even layer on half sheet pan (18 by 13 inches) and scatter shallots over tomatoes.
- Add sliced oranges to the pan, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Top with ground black pepper and roast until the tomato skins are slightly shriveled, but not falling apart, 35 to 40 minutes. (Do not stir tomatoes during roasting.)
- In the meantime, boil the pasta until al dente and drain. Put back into the warm pot. You want to time it so that the tomatoes and oranges come out of the oven at the same time as the pasta is finished cooking. Scrape everything from the sheet pan into the pot of pasta and stir gently, adding the chopped parsley at the end. Taste for seasoning and place into warmed pasta bowls for serving.
- Top each serving with a drizzle of olive oil, some grated ricotta salada, a couple segments of oranges, a little Aleppo pepper, and a spoonful of crispy shallots. Enjoy!