Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce

Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce
Adapted from The Best American Recipes 2000 via Epicurious.com

Oddly, the original recipe calls for 1/3 cup olive oil, but never tells you what to do with more than a couple tablespoons of that. I found three to four tablespoons to be just right.

3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound dried fusilli (corkscrew) or farfalline (butterfly) pasta
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the oil.

Place the tomatoes cut side up in the dish.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheeses, and garlic and toss with a fork to mix well. Sprinkle the bread-crumb mixture over the tomatoes, making sure that each cut side is well covered with the crumb mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then the final tablespoon of olive oil. Bake until the tomatoes are cooked through and starting to brown on top, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Time the pasta so it finishes cooking about the time the tomatoes are ready to come out of the oven.

From Smitten Kitchen