Tomato Celebration

Thank heavens tomatoes are back! I really can't get enough tomatoes when they come into season and I wait impatiently for them all year long, particularly heirlooms. We eat them every way we can think of (you'll be seeing a lot of them for the next few months!), and one of our favorite dishes, and the first thing I ever cooked for Jack, is a pasta recipe, taken from that old '80s go-to The Silver Palate Cookbook. As with most of the recipes in the book, this is not low calorie, light, or particularly healthy. But, oh, it's so damned good... we call it seduction food. I recently advised my daughter to make it for her boyfriend, swearing to her that he "will look at you like you're a goddess once he tastes it!"

However, goddesses don't need to be heavy, so I've lightened it up a lot by reducing the amount of olive oil and cheese (the original called for heart-stopping amounts of both!).

This is an old post with new (better) photos. It was originally posted 2 years ago and has gone unnoticed all this time (nobody ever visited back then), so I decided to dust it off and freshen it up. The recipe deserves it.

Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil
adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook
serves 4

4 large ripe tomatoes (I prefer a mix of red and yellow heirloom, or Jersey), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 pound of brie, rind removed, torn into small pieces
1 cup of fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound linguine

Combine the tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature at least two hours. Add the brie about an hour before you want to eat.

Cook and drain the linguine and toss with the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately.

Be sure to have some good crusty bread for soaking up all the lovely garlic-y juices!

Comments

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

This is the time of year when I wish that, just once, I could grow tomatoes and harvest them before the rabbits get to them. There is something so reassuring about a gnarly tomato. Somehow you just know it will have great flavor.

[Manggy]

I can see how Jack got totally smitten! ;) The pasta sounds delicious! Ah, those first few months of blogging, unsure of whether anybody was actually reading, heh heh :)

My eyes almost popped out when I first read the recipe-- when I read 1/2 pound of Brie, I absentmindedly thought 1/2 kilogram (14oz), so I thought, no wonder it's so good, you put a lot of chee$$$e into it!! Ha ha ha.

[Manggy]

Er, I meant 18 oz. oops! This is what happens when you keep converting in your head!!

[Deeba]

YUM YUM YUM Ann...am glad you decided to repost it. Well worthy of another showing...love the flavours. This is one of my favourite summer pastas!LOL manggy's conversions are making my eyes POP!!!

[frenchtart]

i am so making this! do you think if i made it with fresh pasta that it could stand up to the sauce, or should i stick with boxed pasta? (sometimes i have trouble picking out a sauce that won't overcome homemade pasta).

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

Ann - So glad you resurrected this one!

I was heading to your blog anyway, but I spied the tomato photo on Recipe Muncher first. Oh, those colors! Couldn't wait to see what you made.

[Patricia Scarpin]

Ann, there's no better way of having pasta. This looks amazing.

[Susan from Food Blogga]

Summer tomatoes are indeed cause for celebration. And your pasta is sublime in both its flavors and simplicity.

[giz]

I love heirloom tomatoes - I wish I could just shalack them and keep them in a bowl and they'd always be gorgeous and never rot. That linguine is so inviting - it's the 1/2 lb of brie that scares me.

[Johanna]

looks like a recipe worth sharing again - and the photo of the tomatoes is quite amazing - such colours and shapes as I never see at my supermarket but I bet the tastes are miles ahead

[grace]

copious melted cheese and gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. yes, i can see why this is a winner. does your daughter's boyfriend follow her around like a lost puppy now? :)

[dhanggit]

this is the type of food i'd love to eat with my hubby on a romantic evening..i just want simple food like this but with lots of great flavors on it..tomatoes and basil is a match made in heaven! have a great weekend Ann

[Coffee and Vanilla]

Beautiful, it make me miss garden tomatoes I used to eat back home...
Have a good day, Margot

[michelle]

MMM....and you are a goddess yourself! It looks awesome, and my dear, you had me at that picture of all those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes!!

[Cakespy]

This makes me want to cry...to think I was originally from NJ, the unofficial Tomato state...and I moved away. Regret!!

[Elle]

I could seriously eat a dish of that right now at 11:15 pm. Amazing!

[Psychgrad]

Looks delicious. I love these types of meals - a few basic, fresh ingredients, making a nice easy meal.

[Bellini Valli]

I have a couple Silver Palate cookbooks. I still remember the coeur la creme with a poppy seed dressing...in fact I still have to try it:D

[sara]

Delicious! I adore the Silver Pallate cookbook. I need to dust that one off and use it!! I have my mom's copy!

[Pasticcera]

Love , Love , love the tomato photo, the colors and ambiance!

[Zita]

Oh...can't imagine life without tomato, love your linguini sauce :)

[Poonam]

Linguini sauce looks great!

[Astra Libris]

Ohhhhh, seduction food indeed... I think you may have created the sexiest pasta ever... ;-) You are definitely a culinary goddess!

[We Are Never Full]

This is the perfect summer meal. PERFECT! also, i've been thinking of doing the same thing you did with this older recipe - dusting it off and bringing it back! why not??

[Deborah]

We're picking our first tomatoes out of the garden today - and I'm so excited!! This sounds delicious, and I can't wait to see what other tomato recipes you post!