Love a vegetarian pasta? Why not give Creamy Orzo Pasta Primavera a try! We eat a lot of pasta in our house, especially when we want a quick and delicious meal without reaching for anything processed. A trick I learned when travelling in Italy is that big flavour doesn’t need a lot of ingredients or effort. Italian cooks are great at turning simple, straightforward ingredients into memorable meals! This roasted cherry tomato pasta with burrata is inspired by my favourite Italian cooks and the simple, tasty meals they make. The sweet pop of roasted tomatoes combines with the creamy goodness of burrata to make a luxurious but oh-so-simple pasta! Nothing hard goes into making this pasta. And because it only takes 30 minutes to make, this dish will become a weekday favourite!
Roasted cherry tomatoes
Roasting tomatoes, and especially cherry tomatoes, is a great trick to learn. It is an easy way to bring some pretty exciting flavours to a dish. Roasting tomatoes takes out some of the juice and concentrates the flavours, therefore making them sweeter and more intense. Because the burrata is so creamy, this dish really does need slightly sweeter tomatoes for everything to balance. For this pasta, I’ve roasted the cherry tomatoes with garlic, salt and olive oil. The tomatoes will burst when roasted and release their juices. The cherry tomatoes will take between 15 and 20 minutes to roast. When crushed with chopped basil they become a simple but flavoursome sauce that mixes easily with the cooked pasta.
Burrata
If you are not familiar with burrata then you are in for a treat! It is the creamiest cheese I know of and a favourite appetiser when we are eating Italian food. Burrata was invented to find a use for bits of mozzarella that would otherwise be wasted. The outer case of burrata is made of solid cheese, but the inside is a mix of scraps from making mozzarella combined with fresh cream. When cut open, the creamy centre oozes out. Burrata made the traditional way is not vegetarian because it includes animal rennet. Fortunately, many producers are coming out with versions made with vegetarian rennet. So if you are hoping to make a vegetarian meal, make sure you take a close look at the label!
Serving suggestions
Italians serve pasta mixed with the sauce, rather than the two separately. And that’s exactly what we’ve done here. This makes sure that the pasta and sauce is evenly mixed together, making for a better eating experience. I like to serve this cherry tomato pasta with the burrata on top, to be opened and combined once it gets to the table. But that’s just for show, so feel free to break apart the burrata and mix it in when initially mixing the pasta with sauce. I like to serve my pasta with a fresh salad like Tuscan Panzanella Salad or a simple vegetable side dish, like Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli. And of course, a warm garlic bread or fluffy focaccia is the perfect way to finish things off!
Storage and leftovers
Pasta is best eaten fresh and will lose that wonderful al dente texture when it is stored. But letting perfectly good food go to waste is not a great option either. Store it for up to 3 days refrigerated in an airtight container and reheat in a microwave.
More vegetarian pasta recipes
Creamy Brie Mac and Cheese Orzo Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash Best Vegetable Lasagna Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta Sauce
