Tomatoes are by far the most popular vegetable grown in our gardens, and for good reason. They are tasty, nutritious, versatile, relatively easy to grow, and return high value for the space they occupy.

I love tomatoes, especially those sweet cherry and grape ones that give you a burst of flavor when you bite into them. Our featured recipe this month packs a lot of flavor into a fresh tasting, light pasta dish.

When I make this dish I substitute basil for some of the spinach and when I have garden tomatoes, sometimes I use large tomatoes. When I use large tomatoes I take the seeds out and cut the tomatoes into large chunks before I roast them. I think you could grill the tomatoes instead of roasting them, but I haven’t tried this yet. I usually serve a green salad, fruit and milk with this dish. Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato and Spinach Pasta

Serving Size: 1¼ cups | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups (about 10 ounces) cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup oil (divided)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 cups fresh spinach or a 10 ounce bag frozen spinach, thawed
• 8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 5 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Rinse the tomatoes under running water. Cut in half. Spread on greased baking pan.
3. Sprinkle olive oil (2 tablespoons), salt, pepper, and garlic powder on tomatoes. Stir to coat.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Prepare spinach and spaghetti as tomatoes bake.
5. Rinse fresh spinach in water, slice in strips OR thaw, drain, and pat dry the frozen spinach. Set aside.
6. Follow package directions to cook spaghetti. Drain.
7. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, Italian seasoning, spinach, and baked tomatoes to the spaghetti. Stir until heated through. Serve with Parmesan cheese.