Roasted Tomato Penne

Published November 14, 2012

A wonderful meal by the fire or in the summer time with a salad.

This is one of my husband’s favorite dinners with a nice Caesar salad and Classic Chianti. It is very kid-friendly and allows  you to enjoy the afternoon while the aroma of roasted tomato and pesto fill the home. Serve it with a nice Chianti and a fresh baguette.

Ingredients

18, firm roma tomatoes                           10 garlic cloves, peeled

3/4 cup olive oil                                           1 package of pine nuts, toasted

salt and fresh ground pepper                      2 cups of fresh basil

1 orange (juice and rind)                                1 lemon (juice and rind)

1 package of feta cheese                                6 cups of cooked penne

Directions

Fill a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Add the raw pasta and cook until el dente. Drain and set aside and add a little olive oil to keep it from sticking.

Cut your tomatoes in half, lengthwise and facing up in a greased casserole dish. In a small food processor, blend  basil, orange juice, orange rind, lemon juice and rind, toasted pine nuts, peeled garlic, salt and pepper. Add  the olive oil slowly to make the pesto. Pour over the tomatoes and bake in the oven at 325 deg for 1 hour.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the penne, Add crumbled feta cheese on the top and serve.   Serves 6 people.