Strozzapreti With Roasted Tomatoes
- 12 ounces (about 22) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 23 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
- 1/4 cup, firmly packed, fresh basil or parsley leaves
- 1 cup grano duro flour or unbleached all-purpose flour, more as needed
- 2 large eggs
- Salt
- For the sauce: Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil and 4 minced garlic cloves.
- Toss well, then spread tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut sides up.
- Roast until soft and collapsing, about 45 minutes; do not allow to dry or brown.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor combine remaining minced garlic, cheese, and basil or parsley.
- Process until very finely chopped.
- When tomatoes are soft, immediately spread cheese-herb mixture on top and lightly mash with a spoon so cheese melts.
- Drizzle with 2 more tablespoons oil, and set aside.
- For the strozzapreti: On a wooden counter or large cutting board, mound 1 cup flour and make a well in center.
- Break eggs into well.
- Using your hands, mix eggs in well, gradually pulling in more and more flour to make a pasty dough.
- Knead dough briefly, using lightly floured hands if dough is very wet; it should be moist but not sticky.
- Scrape wooden board clean.
- Using a wooden rolling pin (and a very light dusting of flour if necessary), roll dough out as thinly as possible into an approximate rectangle.
- Using a knife, score rectangle into strips an inch wide and about three inches long.
- Pick up one piece of dough and press it around a bamboo meat skewer about the diameter of an umbrella spoke.
- This is most successful if done quickly and not too carefully, so that dough fits tightly round skewer with an overlapping, visible seam.
- Slide skewer out of pasta and set pasta aside on a plate.
- Repeat to use remaining dough.
- Pieces should be irregular in size and shape.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
- If desired, return baking sheet of tomatoes to a 300-degree oven just to reheat.
- Add strozzapreti to pot and cook until tender, slightly chewy and no longer raw in center.
- This is best done by tasting after strozzapreti float to surface; be careful not to under- or overcook.
- Drain cooked pasta and pour into a large bowl; immediately add tomatoes.
- Toss quickly and serve hot.
cherry tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, pecorino cheese, fresh basil, flour, eggs, salt
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014029 (may not work)