Burst Tomato Pasta

A burst tomato sauce heats the tomatoes just enough so they simply “burst” and release their juices to create a natural sauce. They are great on fish, with pasta and so much more. This one looks like noodles and tomatoes, but I promise that it tastes like so much more than that.

I have made countless burst tomato sauces, but for this one, I changed up the method and undercooked the pasta by quite a bit. I added more liquid that would be absorbed into the pasta with all of the flavor that goes with it. It is totally bursting with flavor, and that flavor is inside the pasta, rather than just the sauce.

The extra liquid added includes wine and chicken bone broth, which are sucked up by the undercooked noodles. It’s really important to undercook the pasta by quite a bit. I undercooked mine by 3 minutes from the directions on the pasta box. The pasta will finish cooking when you add it to the pan.

This end result is a surprisingly creamy texture that is similar to a Carbonara, but with the taste of bright tomatoes and fresh basil.

This burst tomato pasta is super simple, quick and a really delicious dish.

You might be asking why all of the tomatoes aren’t “bursted.” It’s not an accident. When all of the tomatoes burst, some of them can really deflate into nothing. I prefer to burst some of them, and leave others whole for a mix of textures, while still giving the sauce flavor. There’s something really fun about taking a bite of a tomato that explodes with bright flavor.

Burst Tomato Pasta

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Author: Justin McChesney-Wachs

Ingredients

• 8 oz thick spaghetti
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken bone broth (such as Kettle & Fire) or vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Fresh basil, torn

Instructions

• Cook the pasta in heavily salted water for 3 minutes under al dente from what the instructions on the box specify. Drain the pasta once it is cooked.
• Heat olive oil in a 10″ skillet over medium heat and add the sliced garlic before the oil gets hot. Cook for 2-3 minutes. This will infuse the olive oil with the garlic flavor without burning the garlic. 
• Add the cherry tomatoes, and increase the heat to medium-high.
• Cook for about 4 minutes until the tomatoes start to burst. I prefer not to burst all tomatoes to give a mix of textures.
• Add white wine and reduce it down by about half.
• Add chicken bone broth and cook for 2 more minutes.
• Add the cooked pasta and swirl it with the liquid using tongs or a spatula. Season at this point with salt and pepper.
• Cook for about 3 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente.
• Add the butter and swirl until it is melted.
• Remove from heat and add the grated Parmesan and torn basil.