Cherry Tomato Pasta with Olives and Basil
This cherry tomato pasta is perfect when you need a quick but light and refreshing meal. With fresh cherry tomatoes, basil and olives this pasta gets done in less than 15 minutes. A fresh home-cooked meal doesn't get easier than this.
When I have cherry tomatoes in the house, I am always tempted to make two things. One is this cherry tomato pasta and the other is my mozzarella and cherry tomato salad. I think cherry tomatoes are best eaten raw or with as little cooking as possible. The sweetness of the fruit alone is so exotic.
We are lucky that cherry tomatoes are here in abundance almost throughout the year. Back in Singapore, I remember they were very expensive, and so we'd only use them sparingly in salads
About this cherry tomato pasta
I love this recipe because of all the mixed flavors - The sweetness from the red onions and cherry tomatoes, infused with the scent of garlic, the salt and tartness from the olives, the nutty flavor of the parmesan cheese and the freshness of the Basil.
The best part is, that you don't need to do much. You want to cook it as little as possible so you can preserve the freshness of the tomatoes. I like to have the tomatoes pulp and juicy still holding their shape but filled with all the wonderful flavors from the sauce. The pasta takes about 11 minutes to boil while the rest of it needs no more than 5 minutes.
This is usually something I like to make after a long festive weekend when we want to keep it light and fresh.
Useful tips and tools
- You will need a clean chopping board and utility knife to cut the veggies.
- For everyday pasta dishes, I often like to use my cast-iron skillet. And yet, you can also use a heavy bottom saute pan. Make sure to use a nice large one that can accommodate the boiled pasta as well.
- When making a sauce with tomatoes, I prefer to use my large Dutch-oven. The thick metal does a great job of cooking evenly, and the deep sides prevent the sauce from spattering all over the kitchen counter.
- I usually prefer to use a wooden spatula and toss things rather than stir to avoid breaking the tomatoes
- And, make sure to use the right size pasta pot with sufficient water when cooking pasta.
Ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- Onions - I highly recommend red or Spanish onions. These are sweet and caramelize beautifully in the sauce.
- Cherry tomatoes - Ideally, you want to use what is fresh in season. Today I'm using the grape tomatoes, which are sweet and juicy.
- Olives - Black olives are picked after they are ripe while green are picked when they are still raw. Both are of course cured. Personally, we like black kalamata olives in our pasta, but you can use whichever you like to eat.
- Olive oil - For me, it has to be a good quality olive oil when making pasta. I don't use extra virgin but cold-pressed. Again that's a personal preference.
- Basil - Adds to the freshness of the dish of course.
- Pasta - We love our penne, but obviously any shape works great with this dish.
How to make cherry tomato pasta, with olives and basil (Save/Pin)
Boil Pasta
- Place a pot of boiling water with salt.
- Cook the pasta as per packet directions. Drain and set aside when ready.
- Reserve ½ cup for the cooking liquid for the sauce.
Prepare Sauce
- Pour olive oil in to a sauce pan.
- Add in the sliced garlic and turn the heat on med-low. Heating the garlic in cold oil will enhance the flavor of the garlic in the oil.
- Add in the chopped onions. Saute for about two minutes.
- Now add the tomato paste - with ¼ cup reserved water to help dissolve.
- Throw in your cherry tomatoes. Saute on medium-low.
- Cook for about three minutes. You want the tomatoes to soften up but not disintegrate.
- Add in the Olives and tear in some basil.
- Add the Parmesan.
- Taste for seasoning - add salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta. You should enough liquid to coat the pasta with the sauce, but if needed add in a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water.
- Serve warm and Enjoy!
Description
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 (1 ) Onion chopped fine
- 1 clove (1 clove) Garlic sliced
- 400 grams (0.88 lb) Cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp (0.52 oz) Tomato paste
- ½ cup (2.38 oz) Kalamata olives pits removed
- 2 sprigs (2 sprigs) Fresh basil
- 2 tbsp (1.04 oz) Parmesan grated
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) Olive oil
- 1 sprig Basil
- ¼ tsp Salt for the sauce
- ½ tsp Pepper
Pasta
- 500 grams (1.1 lb) Pasta Penne
- 1 tbsp Salt for the pasta
Instructions
Boil Pasta
- Place a pot of boiling water with salt.
- Cook the pasta as per packet directions. Drain and set aside when ready.
- Reserve ½ cup for the cooking liquid for the sauce.
Prepare Sauce
- Add olive oil to a saute pan.
- Add in the sliced garlic and turn the heat on med-low. (Heating the garlic in cold oil will enhance the flavor of the garlic in the oil).
- Next, add the chopped onions. Saute for about two minutes until translucent.
- Add the tomato paste - with ¼ cup reserved pasta water.
- Then, add the cherry tomatoes. Saute on medium-low for just two minutes. (we want the tomatoes to be soft but still, hold their shape)
- Add in the olives, basil leaves, and Parmesan
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Finally, add the pasta and ¼ cup reserved pasta water. Toss everything to combine.
- Serve garnished with more basil leaves
Recipe Notes
Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Frequently asked questions
This cherry tomato pasta will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
yes, you can freeze this pasta for up to a month. It's best to thaw in the fridge overnight for best results. When thawed the cherry tomatoes are softer in texture.
You can, however, the tomato paste does a great job of bringing everything together including flavoring the pasta.
Absolutely, this is a very versatile dish and any shape of pasta works with this sauce.
You certainly can use regular chopped tomatoes but the sauce will be less sweet. I would recommend adding 1 tsp of brown sugar to the onions just a minute before adding the tomatoes. Just the way I did with my recipe for fresh tomato sauce.
Ideally, we love some rustic bread to go with our pasta. Time permitting I often make one of these homemade bread - olive sun-dried tomato dinner rolls, roasted garlic parmesan bread rolls, no-knead beer bread or whole wheat walnut bread
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