marinated tomato pasta

I’m writing this from my rooftop, which is large and flat in a way that allows me to pretend that it’s a backyard patio. I live on the third floor of a row home situated roughly in the middle of its block. Although my rooftop is flanked on either side by multiple other rooftops, just like it, I am the only person who appears to use it as a patio or for any use at all. (This is with the exception of the one time a couple of weeks ago when I was sitting on my roof, feeling secure in this fact, with a very green, clay face mask slathered on, eating a bowl of spaghetti and apparently so involved in eating that didn’t realize my neighbor was also on his roof. Surely unrelated to this event, that neighbor has not since been seen enjoying his roof. ) This is my favorite room in my apartment.

My roof is covered in a light gray asphalt material, which at this point in the summer and especially in the afternoon, is almost too hot to walk on barefoot. This is the exact time in summer when tomatoes are at their best.

For that reason, this dish is almost more of a method than a recipe. I’ve borrowed the method from the barefoot contessa herself, Ina Garten. It involves halving the tomatoes (you could also cube heirloom tomatoes), thinly slicing shallots, seasoning with salt, pouring some olive oil and red wine vinegar over it and letting the whole thing sit in a bowl on the counter until dinner time. The salt will draw the liquid out of the tomatoes and create a tomato broth. It becomes a tangy, oily dressing for your pasta to absorb.Because the sauce is room temp already, once you mix everything together, the whole thing ends up being sort of like a pasta salad. I like to tear up some basil leaves and top this with little cubes of marinated feta or shards of ricotta salata.

Marinated tomato Pasta

Ingredients

4 pints cherry tomatoes

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for pasta water)

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 handful of basil leaves, torn

Feta cheese or ricotta salata for topping

1 pound rigatoni pasta

Instructions

Step 1:

Slice the tomatoes in half and place in a bowl. I recommend making your marinated tomatoes in the same bowl that you plan on serving the pasta in for maximum ease.

Step 2:

Season tomatoes with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Stir to evenly coat the tomatoes and let sit with a tea towel or covered in some way at room temperature for about 3 hours. Feel free to go longer

Step 3:

Once your tomatoes have sat long enough to get saucy, bring a pot of generously seasoned water to a boil. Cook al dente according to the instructions. I like to use a short pasta like rigatoni but spaghetti would also work.

Step 4:

While the pasta cooks, do a final seasoning check on your sauce. Once cooked, drain the pasta and add directly to the bowl of tomatoes. Stir to coat. Tear basil over the pasta and shave ricotta salata over the whole thing. Put some ice cubes in your rose and enjoy outside.