Ingredient of the Week Simply de-vine

This week I have made a delicious and simple pasta dish that’s sure to please everyone, including the cook – it requires very little effort and can be made from scratch and on the table in about 20 minutes.

It’s a dish full of flavour and freshness that only comes from quick cooking. I’ve been making this dish or variations of it for years – originally I cooked this when our kids were younger as a way to encourage them to eat fresh tasty food as opposed to the brightly labelled sauces invariably featuring pictures of their favourite cartoon characters. I am very happy to say that it worked and it’s a still a firm favourite 10 years on.

The essential components for this dish are obviously the tomatoes and, as I’m sure you all know, sometimes the cherry tomatoes available at the supermarkets are essentially just wee red water bombs that really don’t taste of much. I find that the tomatoes still on the vine usually have more flavour and over the summer months there are quite often packs of mixed coloured tomatoes that are delicious and look very appealing in the finished dish. If the cherry tomatoes are all fairly bland, you can use large vine tomatoes, just cut them into a large dice and the results will be every bit as tasty.

Serve with a mixed salad and some crusty bread for mopping up the sauce and, if you’re having a glass of wine, pinot noir would be the perfect accompaniment. Enjoy.