30 days, 30 dinners - Meal #3, Three tomato pasta

This meal was a wonderful surprise! Who would have guessed that tomatoes, pasta and cheese are heaven in a bowl? Oh yeah, the Italians!

Three tomato pasta
(again, adapted from our favorite cookbook, Everyday Food)


Pasta:
Cook whatever pasta you desire, however we prefer bucatini. It's a thicker spaghetti with a thin tube running through it. It's heartier with real bite (if cooked al dente).

Tomato sauce:
In a saute pan, saute 2 TBS of sun dried tomato oil (we poured some olive oil over our dry sun dried toms the night before, let it soak in and used it the next day) with two cloves of garlic and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes (we added more because our red pepper flakes are looking less and less red these days, therefore losing their potency).

Add one can of petite diced tomatoes and 1/4 c of sun dried tomatoes (the ones we did have in the oil) to the saute pan. Let this simmer for 10 minutes, or until it thickens.

Toss with pasta (in the pan), 1/3 c of grated Parmesan and 1/2 cup of fresh (halved) cherry tomatoes.

Serve in bowls. Add salt, pepper and more Parmesan to taste.

Enjoy! Since there is no basil in this, it is different from a spaghetti sauce. The different textures and flavors of the tomatoes enhance the experience.

PS - Who would have known it be so hard to cook daily and post a recipe a day? Obviously, we're a little slow.