Recipe Swap: Orecchiette with Roasted Tomatoes,Garlic and Spinach

Orecchiette, or little ears is one of my favorite pastas. It holds sauce really well and well... I really think they are so cute. Quick side story, my husband and I actually had the same favorite pasta dish when we first met. We both said we had only ever had one dish at the Olive Garden. We both dared each other to say the dish at the same time and we both said Garlic & Herb Chicken Con Broccoli.I almost died. So that is what we did on our first date. Went to the Olive Garden and both had chicken con broccoli.This dish reminded me of that.


For this pasta themed recipe swap I received this recipe from Mary Ellen who writes the blog Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations. I was really excited when I received this recipe from her because it looked like a really simple preparation and big flavors. Roasting the tomatoes gives them such a bold flavor!There was also bold garlic flavor, which was delicious. I added a splash of wine because I was drinking it and hey everything is better with wine. I also added some lemon zest for some bright flavor. This was a great recipe and super easy to prepare.You gotta love a recipe with three easy steps. This will be in my regular rotation for sure! Might I add a kitchen mishap. As I was about to pour the pasta into the pot I spilled almost the entire box on the floor. Ugh. Toby then suggested I just wash them off in a strainer and still use them. Whatever, I was hungry. I'm not ashamed. :)

Ingredients

• 8 oz orecchiette pasta, cooked to al dente. Save some of the pasta water when draining the pasta.
• 6 Roma tomatoes
• 1 bulb roasted garlic
• 8 oz baby spinach
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil 
• 1/3 c grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

From this...

To this.. YUM

• Cut the tomatoes into quarters, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in a large baking dish (large enough to use for serving the pasta) on 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 
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• Once the tomatoes are done, add the pasta, whole roasted garlic cloves, and spinach to the dish. Toss.
• Add some of the pasta water, the cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and toss again. Serve.