Angel Hair Pasta with a Roasted Tomato Onion Sauce

My daughter had only two requests for food when she came home for break and one of the was my Chicken Milanese.  My opportunity was to choose what I could serve alongside that would be good but for me was a new idea.  I decided that I would roast tomatoes and make a light Italian sauce served over angel hair pasta.  This angel hair pasta with a roasted tomato onion sauce could stand on its own.  The Chicken Milanese used Italian Panko bread crumbs so I added oregano as well to the sauce.  Calling it a sauce is not the correct term.  Who can let me know what the correct reference is for topping your pasta with vegetables?

I roasted the tomatoes in garlic in the oven.  Then, added it to a couple of onions that I softened.  I finish the “sauce” by adding a few basic spices and no more than a 1/4 cup of tomato sauce.  The liquid from this sauce all came from the tomatoes.  I did add a can of Italian stewed tomatoes because I did not think I had enough sauce for the 1 lb. pasta and I am glad that I did.

 

Ingredients:

• 6 whole tomatoes (like beefsteak)
• 3 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers
• 4 – 5 tbsp olive oil, divided
• Salt & pepper to taste (twice)
• 2 yellow onions, sliced in half
• 1 – 14.5 oz can of Italian stewed tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. Oregano

Directions:

First are the directions for roasting the tomatoes.  Cut the tomatoes in 1/2 horizontally.  Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  On a baking sheet, place the tomatoes cut side down.  Add the garlic slivers intermixed with the tomatoes.  Pour over the 2 – 3 tbsp. of the olive oil and take your hands and make sure both sides of the tomatoes get coated.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and place the tomatoes back to cut side down.  Roast for close to 2 hours.

When you look in your oven the outer skin should be peeling away from the tomato.  The tomatoes will be tender after that much cooking time.  No need to wonder.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  Once the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, simply pull off the skin and cut off the stems with the core.  I left the stem on the 1/2 of the tomato while cooking.

Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, add the rest of the oil to the pan and heat on medium high.  Add the onions and stir to coat in the oil.  Cook for 5 – 6 minutes until they become translucent.

Pour in the tomato mixture including all the liquid from the baking process.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Add in the spices and continue to simmer.  After a couple of minutes, add in the stewed tomatoes and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Separately, boil 4 – 6 quarts of water and cook the angel hair pasta for 4 – 5 minutes.  Drain and add to the sauce.  Stir well and serve.   Enjoy!