Busiate with Cherry Tomato Sauce
A simple way to make the most of in season cherry tomatoes, resulting in a light sugo, rich in flavor. Paired perfectly with the milkiness of burrata, this dish is a definite crowd pleaser. Busiate pasta hails from southern Italy and while traditionally served with pesto alla Trapenese (a pesto of tomato, basil and almonds), it’s also perfectly paired with a simple tomato sugo. Can’t be bothered to make busiate? Swap it for fusilli!
Busiate with Cherry Tomato Sauce
A delicious and simple sauce made with fresh cherry tomatoes, served with a dollop of ultra-creamy burrata.
Equipment
- Metal ferretto/ferro This is a a thin rod used to make fusilli. If you don’t have one you can use a kebab skewer
Ingredients
Cherry tomato sauce
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 eschallot finely sliced
- 600 g cherry tomatoes washed and left whole
- 1 elephant garlic clove finely sliced (or 3 regular cloves)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
To serve
- 100 g burrata
- Fresh basil
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
- Follow the instructions for my semolina pasta dough and allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Shaping the busiate
- Divide the dough into several pieces. Working with one at a time (keeping the other pieces covered while you do), use a rolling pin to flatten the piece of dough to a pancake roughly ½ inch thick.
- Cut the pancake into thin strips and using your hands, roll each one out to a noodle about ½ cm in thickness. Cut each noodle into 3 inch pieces.
- Place one piece vertically in front of you, then using a ferretto place it diagonally at the top of the small noodle, and roll it back towards yourself, allowing the dough to form a spiral. Gently slide the busiate off the rod.
- Continue until you’ve used all the dough, placing the busiate pieces on a tray dusted with fine semolina.
Cherry tomato sauce
- Add the butter, oil and eschallot to a cold pan and cook gently for a few minutes, until the butter has melted and the eschallots begin to soften.
- Add the garlic – cooking for a couple of minutes until fragrant – then add the cherry tomatoes to the pan.
- Keeping the heat low, continue to cook for 20 minutes until the tomatoes have started to break down – use the back of a spoon to help break them up.
- Check for seasoning – add salt and cracked pepper to taste and a teaspoon of sugar if the tomatoes are too tart. Reduce to a very low simmer while you bring a pot of well salted water to boil, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the busiate for approx 3-4 minutes or according to packet instructions, drain and add directly to the sugo along with a ¼ cup of the pasta’s cooking water.
- Serve topped with a dollop of burrata, fresh basil and a dusting of Parmigiano Reggiano.
