One Saturday afternoon many years ago I was folding laundry while watching one of Lidia's TV cooking shows. She was making pasta with uncooked cherry tomatoes. My son came in partway through and said, "We should try that." So we tried to remember what ingredients Lidia had used, and we made a list. Then we drove to the grocery store for everything we needed, and made it for supper that night. It was wonderful. To this day, if you ask my son what's his favorite dish, he'd say this one.Cold Cherry Tomatoes on Pasta
4 cups cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a pinch of crushed red peppers
Salt & freshly ground Pepper
1 pound wagon wheel pasta
about 1/2 cup freshly chopped Parsley
about 3 Tablespoons freshly chopped Basil
Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
about 1/2 cup Feta Cheese, cut up into 1/2" squares
Wash the tomatoes, dry and cut in half. Salt lightly; add olive oil, chopped garlic and crushed red peppers. Stir and let marinate for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir.
When the wagon wheels are "al dente," drain well, and add to the bowl with the tomatoes. Add the feta cheese, and sprinkle generously with pecorino cheese.
(sometimes we add capers)
Feeds one extremely hungry son and his Mom, or four normal sized servings.
