Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

from The New York Times

submitted by Irene Tibbits

serves 8

1 pound fusilli pasta

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

6 ounces pancetta, preferably thick cut, diced

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

pinch of red pepper flakes

fine sea salt and black pepper, as needed

1 quart cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup fresh ricotta cheese, for serving

3 cups whole mint leaves, torn

4 scallions, preferably red scallions for color, thinly sliced

flaky sea salt, to finish

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking water. Stir in ½ cup ricotta.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 15 seconds, then add the oil and heat until it thins out and easily coats the pan when swirled. Add pancetta and cook until it starts to render its fat, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until they burst, turn golden at the edges and shrivel up slightly, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add pasta to pan and toss with tomato-pancetta mixture; if the mixture looks dry add a little pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time. Cook over high heat until the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce. Add the butter and toss until it melts and coats everything.

Divide pasta among warmed pasta bowls. Garnish bowls with dollops of ricotta (other ½ cup ricotta), and top with a generous mound of fresh mint and scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper before serving. Note: If you would like to leave out the pancetta (making the dish vegetarian), toss ⅓ cup grated pecorino in the pasta along with the butter.

This recipe may seem like it calls for a lot of mint, but that’s what makes this easy pasta dish so refreshing. Cooking halved cherry tomatoes in olive oil until they burst condenses their flavor and caramelizes their edges, and makes a very intense base for the pasta sauce in this dish. Pancetta adds richness and a salty tang, but if you’d rather leave it out, you can. Just toss in some grated pecorino cheese at the end along with the butter.