Penne with Basil and Heirloom Tomatoes

In trying to refine and improve my postings, I am going to start posting the ingredients and prep on top, which should make the recipes a little more user friendly.  I'm also going to continue using my better camera and actually editing the photos, which should result in better depictions of the finished product:

This recipe features a lot of farm share ingredients: tomatoes, basil, onions, and garlic.  Here is what you'll need for this recipe:

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic, slivered
• 2-3 small onions, or 1 large onion, slivered
• 4-6 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped (i used 4 small to medium sized, with about 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes)
• 1 cup green olives, rinsed and coursely chopped
• 1/3 cup grated parm
• 2-4 mild italian chicken sausages, cooked (optional - omit to make this vegetarian)
• 1 pound whole wheat penne, just slightly undercooked
• 1/2 cup of fresh basil, torn

Get everything prepared and ready to go before you start cooking - it will make the process go much smoother. Think of the 7 P's: proper prep prevents piss-poor performance.  That being said, you can cook the pasta as you make the sauce (just get the water boiling as you chop everything up).

The farm share tomatoes are gorgeous - the assorted cherry tomatoes are very, very sweet and I think the orange ones have a ton of flavor with less acidity than their red brethren.  Anyway, heat the olive oil in a large skillet, and add the garlic.  Cook for about 10 seconds on medium high, then add the onion.  Add about 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Cook until onions are softened, but not mushy.  Then add the olives and the sausage (if using).

Saute until sausage is warmed, then add the tomatoes.

Cook until the tomatoes release some liquid, and a little of that liquid cooks off.  Turn the heat down to medium low, and add the penne and stir to combine (you use a large pan/skillet for this).

Add the parm and stir it in - this will thicken the sauce and help the tomato flavor stick to the noodles.  Finally, turn off the heat and stir in the basil.  It should wilt down a good amount.  Taste, and adjust seasoning.  I held back on the salt because of the salt in the sausage and olives, but it was rather flat initially.  A little more salt and pepper really made the flavors of the tomatoes and basil jump out.  I really wouldn't change anything about this, I'm very happy with how it turned out.  I think it would be just as good w/out the sausage.  This would be great with an earthy pinot noir or a chianti.  Enjoy!