Slow-roasted tomato pasta recipe

Sweet plum tomatoes, fresh broad beans, and red onion pack this slow-roasted tomato pasta with plenty of nutrients.

Slow roasting tomatoes is a brilliant way to get the very best flavour out of them. Fresh tomatoes contain a lot of water, but when you roast them they dry out. As this happens, the flavour becomes more concentrated: sweet and more tomatoey than ever. It's a great trick that works with slightly overripe tomatoes that you maybe wouldn't want to add to a salad, or imported winter tomatoes, which are less flavourful to start with. Tomatoes are one of the few vegetables that actually get healthier when you cook them - the longer, the better. It increases their levels of lycopene, an antioxidant that helps prevent cancers. At just 421 calories per serving, this dish is one of our favourite healthy pasta recipes.

Ingredients

• 250g (8oz) baby plum tomatoes, halved
• A few thyme or rosemary sprigs
• 2 small red onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 250g (8oz) fresh broad beans
• 300g (10oz) spaghetti
• Basil leaves, optional

Method

1. Set the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2. Put the tomatoes, cut-side up on a baking sheet, lined with Bakewell paper. Scatter with thyme or rosemary sprigs. Add the onion slices and garlic, alongside, on the paper. Drizzle oil over the tomatoes and onion, season and roast for 30 mins until softened.
2. Add the beans to a pan of boiling water and cook for a couple of mins. Take out with a draining spoon and rinse under cold water.
3. Bring the water back to the boil, add salt and cook the pasta according to pack instructions. While it’s cooking, pop the beans out of their skins into a colander, and drain the pasta through the colander to warm the beans.
4. Put the pasta back in the pan. Stir in the onion and tomatoes, discarding the herb sprigs. Divide between 4 warm bowls and drizzle with more oil and add basil leaves, if you like.

Top tip for making slow roast tomato and bean pasta

If you don’t have any fresh thyme or rosemary, you could use dried herbs instead.

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