Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. I’ve written about them here, here, here and here. You’d think there’d be nothing much more to say or do.
But the other day I was – once again – going to make pasta with tomatoes. Rosa, my visiting mother-in-law, had brought up a big bag of orecchiette with her from Bari to Todi. Since they are very firm little shapes I knew they would stand up to the strong taste of roasted tomatoes. To which I usually add some sort of cheese, preferably ricotta salata.
But since Sophie and Emma are trying to avoid cheese these days (the lactose intolerant thing kicking in) I decided to go fishy instead.
Luckily, before heading up to Todi on August 1, I stopped by Eataly in Rome and loaded up on all sorts of canned fish to fill the summer pantry. Lovely tuna filets packed in olive oil, as well as cans of fatty ventresca. I also grabbed a half dozen tins of mackerel and sardines.
How could I resist the cute rooster-bedecked packaging?
So as I tossed the orecchiette with the browned and caramelized tomatoes (sorry I forgot to take a photo. See here), I also flipped in two tins of sardines.
My mother in law was a bit skeptical as I was dumping cans of fish onto her carefully carried, hand made, fresh orecchiette. “Cosi’? Senza fare niente?” Translation: Like that? Without doing anything to them?
All doubts faded away once she tasted the pasta. “Non e’ male.” Not bad.
From an Italian mother in law? That’s more or less the equivalent of two Michelin stars. 
Orecchiette with Roasted Tomatoes and Sardines
(serves 5-6 as first course)
1/2 kilo / 1 pound pasta (I used orecchiette, but you can use any other pasta)
1 kilo / 2 pounds fresh san marzano tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tsp dried oregano
dried red pepper
1 can good quality sardines
1/3 cup olive oil
salt
basil
Preheat oven to 200C/ 400F
Slice tomatoes in half, lengthwise. Lay them on an oven sheet, in one layer, cut side facing up. (you may need two sheets)
Sprinkle with salt, red pepper, and oregano. Slip the sliced garlic into the tomatoes.
Drizzle liberally with olive oil. The more the better.
Place in oven and roast until tomatoes have begun to shrivel up and brown. About 45 minutes.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When tomatoes are almost done, boil pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain, reserving a half cup of the water.
Place pasta in a large bowl, and scrape tomatoes onto pasta. Pour the hot pasta water into the pan, and use it to scrape up the bits of browned tomatoes and their juices. Put that on the pasta as well. Toss.
Add the sardines to the pasta, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Add fresh basil and serve. 
This looks divine, bookmarking for dinner this weekend!
Last weekend it was insalata di riso. This weekend it will be this lovely creation. Thanks for the great summer recipes!
Last week it was your absolutely delicious Home Made Mayonnaise + Vegetables, made exactly to your specifications (a rarity for me)… This week-end it will be Orecchiette with Roasted Tomatoes and Sardines and I dare not deviate. I echo the poster who said Thank You for these perfect Summer recipes. We are loving them.
Gio/CH
Oh my, if we didn’t have left-over cailles that have to be eaten tonight, I would be so on this right this very second!!! So this weekend it will be. Thank you, Elizabeth!!!!
Does the dish lose any flavor by using DeCecco orrechietti instead of fresh. Also, how does one make homemade orecc.? A little bit like cavatelli?
Of course hand made orechiette from Bari are going to be the best, but I realize that not everyone has a nonna making a pasta run to their house! Of course you can use whatever pasta you’d like. Each will be different, but I’m sure delicious. Home made orechiette are hard to make, but this shape here is pretty easy and would be perfect: http://www.elizabethminchilli.com/2012/05/making-pasta-at-palazzo-margherita.html
My friend who owns and runs a farmer’s market dropped off 12 Roma tomatoes plus a few other goodies on her way home from work. I’m the only one in my family who likes sardines and a tin has been sitting in the pantry for a couple weeks. I’m home solo tonight and this was my dinner…fabulous! Thank you, thank you!
~ Diane from Ohio
Sounds like fate!
Hi, I was searching for a good Italian sausage recipe and found your blog and I love it! All the recipes look wonderful. I really enjoy your writing on culture and your photos too. I am going to try some of your recipes for sure but am wondering if you have a good Italian sausage recipe that you can share? Being in Rome, you probably don’t need to make your own but I am hoping that you might have come across a good recipe? I can’t find good ones near where I live so I would really like to learn to make good ones myself. Thanks in advance!
Thanks so much for the kind words! Here is one of my favorite recipes, via my daughter Sophie: http://sophieminchilliinlondon.blogspot.it/2012/03/pasta-broccoli-and-sausage.html
Lovely site… But I was hoping for a recipe to make the sausage itself… You know, with good meat, right balance of fat, herb and seasoning so it will shine in a recipe like your daughter’s and many, many other wonderful Italian recipes…? 🙂 Anyway, trying my luck again here and thank you, really, for responding so quickly!