Pasta with Tomatoes, Brie & Basil

Pasta with Tomatoes, Brie & Basil

Do you have a highlight reel of the best things you've ever eaten? This will forever hold a spot in mine.

5 years ago when I moved back to Rochester I lived with an old coworker of mine who was batsh*t crazy. She just discovered eating healthy, or rather, that attempting to eat a *semi* plant-based diet was going to change her life, and probably the world. She pulled out this recipe to make one night, and I thought there was absolutely no way she was going to teach me anything about pasta.

I underestimated that the Silver Palate Cookbook, where this originated from, was a classic, in the kitchen of any mother and grandmother that strived to be a better home cook. The recipes from this cookbook are thoughtful and elevated, beyond the beloved casseroles and pot roasts that were American staples at the time, proving that you could still achieve ease without sacrificing quality.

The trick with this recipe is that you let the brie sit in a bath of olive oil, tomatoes and their juices, basil, and garlic for a minimum of two hours. And something truly magical happens when those few but deliberate ingredients begin to meld. The uncooked sauce creates a fresh tomato, overly-indulgent cheesy pasta that you will want to recreate every single summer, and will make you start digging through cookbooks from the 1980's to see what other treasures you never would've found.

| Amanda

Pasta with Tomatoes, Brie & Basil

Adapted via The Silver Palate Cookbook

Yield - Serves 4

4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite size pieces

8 oz. brie, rind removed and chopped

5-6 leaves basil, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

1/4 tsp. pepper

3/4 cup olive oil

8 oz. spaghetti or other long, thin noodles

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Add the tomatoes, brie, basil, garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil to a medium bowl and toss to combine. Marinate, unrefrigerated, for at least 2 hours.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta to al dente.

Transfer the pasta from the pasta water into the bowl of the tomatoes. Toss to mix with the sauce, allowing the brie to melt. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper if needed.

Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.