EATING IN

Family, friends and food are big in Dylan’s world and we were lucky enough to drop in just as he got busy. The tunes on the stereo were stirring but soulful, Spoons from Mali Music's Damon Albarn in Mali - perfect for a quick and easy cook-up.  Mmmm, what's cooking? A simple pasta salad oozing with the summery flavours of  juicy tomatoes with a whiff of fragrant basil. No need to be a domestic guru and you won't need a cupboard full of exotic, unseasonable ingredients - just right for a self catering holiday.

Dylan’s Summer Pasta Sensation

this is what you need...

• 2 punnet's of vine tomatoes - preferable cherry or larger will do
• 3 cloves of garlic left in their skins
• 1 packet of penne pasta - use eggless if required
• ½ tub of ricotta cheese
• good handful of grated parmesan
• bunch of rocket leaves
• fresh basil (torn not chopped)
• 1 ripe avocado
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

this is what you do...
Halve the tomatoes (or quarter if larger) and place in an oven dish with a good splash of balsamic vinegar, whole garlic cloves (in their skin), olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper (be generous with all ingredients). Roast the tomatoes in an oven for 30-40 minutes at 180º C and cook until nicely caramelised. When done take out the garlic cloves and squeeze the garlic out of its skin into the tomatoes. Take a potato masher and give the tomatoes and garlic a good “mash”. Add another good splash of balsamic vinegar at this stage. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and add salt (should be as salty as the sea). Cook the pasta how you like to eat it. When done drain the pasta (do not rinse), add a splash of olive oil and add the tomato sauce to the pasta. Crumble in the ricotta and add the torn basil, rocket leaves and freshly grated parmesan. Give it all a good mix.
Serve the pasta at room temperature with slices of avocado on top and a little more grated parmesan.
Dylan's last note - if you're heading for the beach, a sunset consert at Kirstenbosch or that secret little streamside spot, keep the avocado whole and add it just before serving. Eating in? This is also a good dish for a chilled evening at home. Serves four very peckish pasta munchers.
enjoy!

a little food for thought...
A lot more than the essential ingredient of Bloody Mary's - the shiny, happy red fruit the tomato delivers a potent cocktail of crucial nutrients. It's loaded with vitamins E & C, lignin (helps keep cholesterol levels down) and lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant (cancer fighting) and boosts fertility (perhaps the reason why they're called 'love apples'). Get you daily dose by eating lots of tomatoes or get it from other food sources like watermelon, pink grapefruit, pink guava, papaya, red bell pepper and rosehip.
Good antidote for hangovers too! ;-)

Photo: Dylan gets busy in his kitchen, courtesy of Mens Health Living - December 2007