Herb and Garlic Tomato Spaghetti

Herb and Garlic Tomato Spaghetti is one of those quick and easy recipes that taste wonderfully delicious! This simple pasta is prepared using fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, and chives. Cherry tomatoes are blistered with red onions in olive oil to create a sauce. Tossed with perfectly cooked pasta, this dish is a family-friendly meal, but impressive enough for any dinner party!

Last summer we grew more tomatoes than we could eat! We didn’t plant very many tomato bushes, but just for the two of us, the plants yielded much more than we could keep up with. Sadly, it was enough to fire up the canner, but it was enough to harvest fresh tomatoes for a recipe every single day. Herb and Garlic Tomato Spaghetti is one of them.

Yes, Dear Reader, I have been holding on to this recipe since early September last year! I wanted to publish it during tomato harvest season, but it was a bit too late. Before I could get it written up and ready to go, it was time to share Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes with you.

Nevertheless, here’s the recipe now! Do I recommend fresh, locally grown, in-season tomatoes? If at all possible, yes. But, in most cases, we can get very fresh tomatoes all year round. They might not be locally grown, but they’re still good. With that in mind, I’m sharing my Herb and Garlic Tomato Spaghetti in winter!

FRESH HERBS

I have a herb garden which I can pick fresh herbs from all summer long. In fact, some herbs, like thyme, oregano, and even chives, will last long into the fall. This past year, I did not cut those particular herbs to dry until early October. Of course, the timing is all based on weather conditions! This spring, I’m planning to double the size of my herb garden, so there will be lots more of this pasta served with dinner this summer!

Most large chain grocery stores will stock fresh herbs, so you don’t need to be extremely domesticated and grow your own. Fresh herbs are a must for this dish! Dried herbs are great, but they do have a time and a place – like in soups and stews, for instance. If – and that’s a big if – you have to use dried herbs, this is how you do it.

Dried herbs are much more potent than fresh herbs, so it’s not as easy as substituting one for the other. This isn’t written in stone anywhere, but this is my general rule of thumb. For every tablespoon of fresh herbs, use one teaspoon of dried herbs. That will give you the same flavour and potency without overdoing it.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Olive Oil – Use good olive oil, one that you can dip your finger into and like the taste of all on its own.
• Garlic – Whenever possible, always use fresh garlic – especially when you are cooking with fresh ingredients like you are in this recipe.
• Tomatoes – You can use any small tomato in this recipe, like grape or cherry tomatoes.
• Red Onions – These have a more delicate flavour. They are sweeter and since the onions in this recipe are not cooked for a long time, red onions are the best choice.
• Vinegar – I’m using red wine vinegar. You can use other vinegar like champagne, rice, cider, etc., but nothing extremely strong like malt or balsamic.
• Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best, but you can use bottled.
• Fresh Herbs – You will need oregano, thyme, and chives.
• Salt & Ground Black Pepper
• Fresh Basil
• Parmesan Cheese – This is optional, but I love freshly grated parmesan with this tomato recipe!

HOW TO MAKE HERB AND GARLIC TOMATO SPAGHETTI

I often say “this recipe is so easy!” but in this case, it’s absolutely true. The hardest and longest part of this recipe is washing the tomatoes, mincing the garlic, and preparing the herbs. And, we all know that those things are not hard at all! So, this is how to make it. Bring a pot of water to a full boil. Add a good pinch of salt and the pasta. Cook until just al dente. Pasta usually takes about 7 minutes to cook. The next part of the recipe should be ready when the pasta is cooked, so don’t wait to get started.

Go ahead and add the olive oil and garlic to a large skillet.  Over medium heat, cook the garlic until it just starts to change colour. Don’t brown the garlic. It should be just cooked through and fragrant. Once the garlic is ready, add the red onions and the tomatoes. Toss well to coat and immediately turn off the heat.  Continue to stir well and allow the residual heat to blister the tomatoes and cook the onions.

After 5 minutes, stir in the lemon juice, thyme leaves, chives, and oregano.  Season with ground black pepper and salt.  Add the cooked spaghetti and toss well to coat.  Serve immediately.  Garnish with parmesan and basil leaves.

COOKING PERFECT PASTA EVERY TIME!

Someone once told me that I prepare pasta like an old Italian grandma. That has stuck we me for so many years. You see, Dear Reader, I’m far from perfect, but cooking pasta is one thing I can certainly do perfectly. I don’t care what the back of the pasta package says, cook your pasta according to taste and texture. Ignore everything else. Here are my 4 steadfast rules. If you follow these, you’ll have the best tasting Garlic Butter Tomato and Pesto Baked Pasta possible!

Rule #1: Say no to oil!

Do you add oil to your pasta water before adding the pasta? Stop that right now! I don’t know who’s responsible for that, but I have seen some TV chefs do it! If you add oil to your pasta water, do you know what happens when you put the sauce on it? The sauce won’t stick as well as it should. It will slide off because the oil prevents it from sticking.

Rule #2: Add extra salt!

Salt the water. I used to be so afraid of salting pasta water because I thought it would be too salty to eat. Salting the water, before you add the pasta, is the only chance you get to season that pasta. Let the water come to a full boil before adding your salt. The water should taste like the ocean.

Don’t dump the salt in; stir it in. Preventing the salt from settling at the bottom of your pot will keep your pot looking shiny and new. If you have pots with what looks like a tarnished or unpolished interior bottom, it’s because salt sat at the bottom of your pot.

Rule #3: Get that pasta moving about immediately!

Lastly, stir the pasta for a good minute when you first add it to the water. This helps to wash off some of the starch and prevents the pasta from sticking to the pot and to itself. I always pull out a piece of pasta 4 minutes before the package says it will be ready. Taste it. Chew it. It shouldn’t be completely soft. If it has a bit of bite left in the center, get it out of the water and drain it immediately. You can thank me later!

Rule #4: Do not rinse!

So many of us are tempted to rinse pasta under running water after it’s been drained. I think it comes from the notion that it gets rid of the starch. Well, it does in a way. But, when pasta begins to cool off and dry a bit, it becomes a little sticky. That stickiness soaks up pasta sauce, so don’t flush it out!

A quick drain is all you need. Get the pasta into a bowl or onto a plate. Get the sauce on it and serve it up. If you are one of those people who rinses pasta so that it doesn’t get sticky, hold off on cooking it until your sauce is ready. That way, it won’t have time to get sticky before you plate it up!

REHEATING LEFTOVERS

Okay, this is getting a little long-winded, so I’ll go ahead and tie it all up now. When all is said and done, this is one of the best tomato and fresh herb combinations you’ll ever eat. It really is that good! If you have any leftovers, don’t worry. From the time you toss all of the ingredients together, you can refrigerate this dish for up to three days. Yes, it will certainly last that long in your fridge and still look and taste fresh! To reheat, toss in a warm skillet until warmed through, or simply pop it in the microwave for a minute or two! Enjoy!