Roasted cherry tomato sauce with Italian sausage and pasta

Every so often I discover a recipe that is so simple, yet so delicious, that it astounds me.

This pasta dish is one of them. I found it in one of my cookbooks by Michael Smith, a Canadian chef from Prince Edward Island.

Simply reading his intro drew me in --"long ago in a restaurant kitchen I discovered that slowly roasting a pan of fresh tomatoes with Italian sausage transformed the mix into an intensely flavoured rustic pasta sauce".

Oh, yes. Was he right. Oh yes.

So, last evening as it was roasting away in my oven, I stepped outside for something and then came back in. As I did, the aroma greeted me at the door and I felt like I was stepping into one of the finest Italian restaurants around. Suddenly, I wanted to grab a glass of wine, put on "Gira Con Me" by Josh Groban and nibble on some crusty Italian bread.

I made a (very) few adjustments to the recipe and re-named  it to reflect my creation.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Italian Sausage and Pasta
PREP 15 MIN | TOTAL 1 HR 15 MIN

8 cups cherry tomatoes

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 Italian sausages, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds (I use Costco's Kirkland brand sausages - they are the meatiest most delicious sausages and the fat is virtually undetectable. (this is coming from one very picky sausage eater....)

2 Tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle of salt, lots of freshly ground pepper

Pasta of your choice - I used spaghetti - he used penne

1 large bunch of fresh basil (which I didn't have so I sprinkled on some dry basil)

PREHEAT your oven to 400F

TOSS tomatoes, garlic, onion, sausages, olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast until the tomatoes, onions, and sausages are lightly brown and smell a.ma.zing. Now here's where I strayed a bit--he says 30 to 45 minutes. I used slightly frozen sausages so I roasted everything for an hour. Yeeummy smells...

BRING a large pot of water to the boil, add your pasta of choice and cook until al dente. Drain, and rinse with hot water. I splash a tiny bit of olive oil on it to keep it from sticking.

ADD a Tbsp of water to the roasting pan and stir and scrape up all the browned bits. Place pasta in individual serving dishes, top with the sauce and sprinkle with fresh (or dried) basil.

Rich, sweet, and flavourful.

Divine!

What could be simpler?

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