Tomatoes and carrots and pasta, oh my!
When the tomatoes are nice and fresh and summery, I like to serve the first version of the oven-roasted sauce right over pasta with no accoutrements at all. But now that the summer tomatoes are on their way out (even though summer appears to still be going strong–it hit 100 degrees here in Baton Rouge last week!!), I am trying different methods to make the sauce go further without sacrificing freshness or variety. I have an old, old Italian cookbook that my husband gave me eons ago when we were dating that recommends adding carrots to tomato-based sauces. So, I thought, I roast the tomatoes to enhance their flavor, why not give the carrots the same treatment? The result is a sweet, chunky, delightfully bright orangey sauce that retains traditional Italian flavors without being boring. As a bonus, the velvety texture that the carrots take on when roasted makes the sauce adhere nicely to the linguine. If you have the base sauce leftover, dinner can be on the table in about 30 minutes…and it’s good for you too!
Linguine Marinara with Roasted Carrots
6-8 whole carrots, peeled and cut into thick chunks
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Cracked pepper
1 - 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (see recipe below)
1/2 pound linguine
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the carrots with enough olive oil to coat, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15-20 minutes, until beginning to shrivel. Meanwhile, cook the pasta, and heat the tomato sauce over low. When the carrots are done, place them in the bowl of a food processor and process until paste-like (think baby food texture). Add the carrot puree to the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary (it may be too sweet and need salt). Serve over linguine, and top with fresh Parmesan.
For the bread:
Hollow out a half-loaf of French bread and fill it with a mixture of chopped Roma tomatoes, garlic, basil leaves, and olive oil, all salted nicely. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. The bread will soak up the juices from the tomatoes–yum! The filling is even better if you make it a few hours early and let it sit for a bit. Slice into rounds and serve with the pasta. This is a terrific meal to serve to your vegetarian friends!