True comfort food for this rubbish July, with roasted garlic to smoke things up. Add or reduce the ricotta, depending on how spicy you want this to be.
I used elicoidali because I wanted this to be chunky, but use any dried pasta you fancy.
Serves 5.
Six vine tomatoes and a handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
3 tbsp ‘nduja
1 tub ricotta
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
50g basil leaves, torn
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
500g dried pasta of your choice
Lay the tomatoes cut-side-up in a baking dish and pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees fan.
Nestle the unpeeled cloves of garlic among the tomatoes.
In a pestle, mix the ‘nduja with a pinch of salt and enough olive oil to make a thick oil
Cover the tomatoes with the oil and place in the oven for about 30 minutes.
When they’re soft and bursting, transfer about three quarters of the tomatoes to a blender. Pop the garlic out of their skins and add to the blender. Add half of the ricotta and blend to a thick cream.
Add more of the ‘nduja oil or ricotta to taste, and blend in the lemon juice.
Roughly chop the rest of the tomatoes.
Cook the pasta to al dente. Save a cup of the pasta water.
Toss the pasta with the sauce, the torn basil (keeping a few leaves to serve) and the chopped tomatoes.
Depending on how much ricotta you’ve added, you may need to loosen the sauce with the reserved pasta water.
Serve with the remaining basil leaves, any leftover ricotta blobs, lemon zest and black pepper.