This recipe is a variation of one I recently saw in the NYTimes.  Cherry tomatoes are pretty good all year long so this isn’t just a recipe for tomato season.  Enjoy it year round!  The other thing to note in this recipe is the use of chick pea pasta…what a great invention!  Tastes great and has lots of protein.  Look for it in the pasta section of your grocery store.

What you’ll need:

• 1 pound rotini pasta – I use chick pea pasta  
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and coarsely chopped
• a splash of white wine
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Fine sea salt and black pepper, as needed
• 1 quart cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
•  1/3 cup of shredded pecorino romano cheese
• 2 cups whole basil leaves, torn
• 4 scallions thinly sliced

What you’ll do:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 15 seconds, then add the oil and heat until it thins out and easily coats the pan when swirled.  Add the onion and cook until is soft and translucent.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Toss in the splash of white wine.  Add tomatoes and cook until they burst, turn golden at the edges and shrivel up slightly, about 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Add cooked pasta to pan and toss with tomato mixture; if the mixture looks dry add a little pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time. Cook over medium high heat until the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce.
4. Toss in 1/3 cup of shredded pecorino and stir in until it melts.
5. Divide pasta among warmed pasta bowls. Top with a generous mound of fresh basil and scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper before serving.