Tagliatelle with roast tomatoes and prawns

We had a glorious weekend weather-wise (not so glorious in some other aspects, as my older son didn't sleep well, which means we're all sleep-deprived, apart from little man who can sleep during the day, lucky thing). Now it's back to "normal" English weather, i.e. it's raining again. Tomatoes are one of my favourite summer fruit, and this pasta dish of tagliatelle with roast tomatoes and prawns is evocative of leisurely summer days, and is best eaten while sitting in the garden (indoors will be as fine if the weather is like today).

Tagliatelle with roast tomatoes and prawns
Ingredients:
300g basil tagliatelle
250g baby tomatoes
sage leaves (about 4)
1 garlic clove
1 chilli pepper (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil + more
1tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp honey
1tbsp vodka
1tbsp cider vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
prawns (I used a pack of Taste the difference tiger prawns, not sure about the weight)

Start in advance by roasting the tomatoes, it's best cooked on low in the oven, but if you're short of time, roast them at 180C for half an hour. Mix the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, vodka, chopped sage and chilli, and pour the mix over the tomatoes in a roasting tin or ceramic dish. Once cooked, add them to the prawns quickly warmed in the pan (first fry the chopped garlic, then add the prawns and then tomatoes)

Cook tagliatelle until al dente. Drain the pasta and dip it in the pan with the tomatoes and prawns, mix well. Serve with a nice chunk of bread to dip in the juices.
The roast tomatoes are so lush, I can eat them on their own, they are also lovely the next day, cold and eaten with bread and cheese. I usually add a dash of the balsamic vinegar, but as this time I chopped a chilli pepper (from my own chilli plant in the greenhouse), I swapped it for the cider vinegar. You might skip vodka if you don't have it, but it actually gives the tomatoes a deeper more intense flavour.

If you don't have tagliatelle, use another type of pasta. Be creative. The photo below is of pumpkin pasta with roast tomatoes and sweet pepper. If you are a vegetarian, use a vegetarian cheese (I used parmesan).

And for more recipe ideas visit Emily from A Mummy Too's blog linky Recipe of the Week