Quick Blistered Cherry Tomato Spaghetti
So good! If you're looking for an updated take on weeknight spaghetti, this is it. Spaghetti combined with skillet blistered cherry tomatoes and broccoli. Tossed with mint, cashews, chiles, and Parmesan.
In my kitchen, this recipe wins the prize for most-cooked summer pasta, 2018. It's a beautiful spaghetti-based tangle built around skillet-blistered cherry tomatoes, accented with lemon zest, mint, broccolini, and toasted cashews. If you have shichimi togarashi in your spice drawer, great! If not, no big deal, some crushed chile flakes work fine. All in all, this is an incredibly simple recipe, while still having all sorts of interesting flavors going on!
Spaghetti Inspiration
The inspiration for this recipe come from one of my favorite places - Toiro Kitchen. Naoko posted this recipe. And it found itself on high-rotation repeat in the weeks that followed. I took some liberty with it, and landed on the version below, adding broccolini (or broccoli), little dusting and dashes here and there. Naoko makes it in a beautiful donabe, but I've been making it in my widest pan.
Dried spaghetti versus fresh
You can use either! I've done both, and they're great. My main advice? Use whatever spaghetti you love. Another wildcard version I was happy with - soba noodles. Also great.
Weeknight Friendly Spaghetti
One of the things I love about this recipe is how, aside from boiling the pasta, it's a one-skillet meal. Put a big pot of water on, and while it comes to a boil you chop a bit of garlic, and trim some broccoli. It all goes into your largest pan. I also love all the different flavors coming together - chile, lemon, mint, and summer tomatoes.
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Quick Blistered Cherry Tomato Spaghetti
- 8 oz dried spaghetti (or 12 oz fresh pasta)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 basket of cherry tomatoes
- 3 cups broccoli (or broccolini) florets
- 1/4 teaspoons fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
- 1/2 cup toasted cashews, chopped
- Parmesan cheese
- Shichimi togarashi (or chile flakes)
- Lots of lemon zest
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Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt well, and cook the spaghetti al dente, per package instructions.
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In the meantime, combine the olive oil, garlic, and cherry tomatoes in a large pan or skillet. Set over medium-low heat. Cook, over medium heat, until most of the tomatoes burst, 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. About halfway through cooking the tomatoes, stir in the broccoli, and cook for the remaining 3-ish minutes, until the broccoli is bright green. Remove from heat, and season to taste with the salt.
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When the spaghetti is cooked, drain well, and add to the skillet. Stir in the mint, cashews, and as much shichimi togarashi (or chile flakes), Parmesan, and lemon zest as you like. I typically use about 1 teaspoon of the shichimi togarashi, but each brand in strength, so go slow.
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Serve in individual bowls, with more shichimi togarashi (or chile flakes), Parmesan, and lemon zest on the side!
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Comments
I made this for dinner tonight. I said to my husband, "Cashews sounds a little weird in pasta, but Heidi said to, so I'm doing it, because everything she says to do turns out delicious." You know what? It was delicious. Don't ever leave me. :-)
I love this one too! Perfect for this time of year :)! xx!
Wonderful recipe !!!
Made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious! Followed the recipe exactly, including the Shichimi togarashi, which I ordered from Amazon. I loved the cashews with this dish. My husband always wants to know what region a recipe comes from and I said, "Fusion, via Asia, Venice, and Marco Polo." I can see experienting with different herbs and spices, too.
Thanks Christine! So happy you enjoyed it :)!
I made this this week for friends and it was a big hit. Super easy, and great flavor. I thought the mint might be overpowering but it was nicely balanced. Thanks!
This was absolutely delicious! Loved the blend of flavors. Will be making again.
This was so very good. Easy, quick, super tasty. Parm, zest and cherry tomatoes can't go wrong, along with the other components. Heidi I primarily cook from 101cookbooks, NY Times and Bon Appetit and your recipes are consistent winners, head and shoulders above the other two. Years ago I started with the simple and delicious Baby Lima Bean & Chipotle Soup and it's been one hit after the other ever since. My favorite site to share with friends. Thank You!
Thanks so much Molly - I love the lima chipotle soup too & have been meaning to update the pics so more people will give it a go. Thanks for the encouragement.
Looks delicious!!
I made this today and my family absolutely loved it. While i did not have shichimi togarashi, I used chile flakes. I plan to make it again maybe with a different pasta. Thank you for sharing this recipe.