Orecchiette with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, Basil, and Parmesan

I hate to admit this, but it turns out that I haven't been a very good gardener this year. In fact, I almost wish I hadn't planted at all except for some herbs and a tomato plant. This summer ended up being much, much busier than I anticipated. With a conference, vacation, busy kids, a trip to AZ with Thermador, work, and family life I haven't had a whole lot of free time to care for the garden. Last year was so much more laid back! Plus, it just seems so much hotter this year that I don't want to be outside and neither do the plants. They're not doing super, but Eric says that it's not by fault. Spring was a slow start and then it was scorching once it finally warmed up. It was just too hot for plants still getting going.

After days (or weeks?) I went to pick some tomatoes and ended up with tons and tons of the sweet million and yellow pear. Too many, I thought, to do anything with before they went bad. Then i saw this great post on Simple Bites for Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes. I was salivating! It was a few days before I had time to make them, but I'm sure glad I did. They're great for snacking and I also used some to toss with pasta for a meal. I actually had to make a second batch so I could have enough for this pasta dish because I kept eating them.

Orecchiette is such a fun pasta and I loved it with these slow-roasted cherry tomatoes. The meal tasted fresh and full of simple flavors. One thing I love about Italian dishes is how easy they come together and how wonderful they taste when you have fresh and simple ingredients. There's absolutely nothing fancy about this meal, but we loved it!

Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
from Simple Bites

1. Cut the tomatoes in half end-to-end, and place cut side up on a pan.
2. Optional: Slice 4-5 cloves of garlic, and sprinkle over the tomatoes.
3. Strip several sprigs of fresh thyme, and sprinkle the leaves over the tomatoes.
4. Season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and drizzle extra-virgin olive oil liberally over all of the tomatoes.
5. Place in the oven at 200°F for 6-8 hours; the tomatoes will collapse, but not completely dry out. (since they’ll be in there a while, preheating is not necessary)

Note: I filled an entire baking sheet with the tomatoes and also added 2 very large shallots, sliced, and 5 cloves of sliced garlic. I used sweet million and yellow pear tomatoes.

Orecchiette with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, Basil, and Parmesan
a goodLife {eats} creation

8 ounces Orecchiette, cooked according to package instructions
1 1/2 cups slow roasted tomatoes (with garlic and shallots)
1 very large handful of sliced, fresh basil
fresh Parmesan

Toss the slow roasted tomatoes, garlic and shallots (with the oil) with the pasta. Sprinkle with fresh basil and lightly toss to combine. Serve with shavings of fresh Parmesan on top.