Buttered Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil

in Pasta, Quick & Easy, Vegetarian

Buttered Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil

My husband is a pastavore. He can live on pasta and pasta alone. That being said, he won’t touch spaghetti. He’ll eat the same marinara sauce on any other shaped noodle but he won’t touch a spaghetti noodle. Really. Flatten that noodle out a bit and he’ll eat it, no questions asked.

I can’t pick at him too much about his spaghetti phobia. It’s definitely not my favorite noodle but I have a bit of a food phobia myself: I won’t touch corn unless it’s on the cob. The second you cut it off the cob, it becomes completely inedible unless you’ve buried in a bowl of soup, a chicken pot pie, or a muffin. On the cob = pass me the butter! Off the cob = headed straight for the garbage.

This is a super quick & easy meatless dish and it’s made with husband-approved noodle shape. We’re talking from pantry-to-table in about 20 minutes, depending on how quick a water boiler your cooktop is. We also like to swap the tomatoes and basil for crispy pancetta for a creamy, eggless carbonara pasta. We’ve actually set aside our previous favorite carbonara recipe in favor of making it this way.

Buttered Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil

A weeknight favorite: quick and easy pasta dish with fresh tomatoes and basil.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb Linguine
  • 2 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 2 Tbsp basil, chopped/chiffonade
  • 3/4 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, finely grated
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta 6-8 minutes, or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
  2. Toss hot pasta in a large bowl with butter, pepper, tomatoes, basil, and cheese.
  3. Add 1/4 cup pasta water and toss to moisten. Add additional water if necessary.
  4. Salt to taste and serve immediately.

Notes

Yields: 3 servings

Heavily revised from Everyday Pasta, 2007

Estimated time: 20 minutes

11 comments… add one
  • Pastavore, I like it! My boyfriend is one too.

  • I can’t imagine not liking spaghetti!

  • You don’t even like corn when you are the one to cut it off the cob? How funny! 🙂
    I have to admit, I’d rather eat just about any noodle besides spaghetti, too (except angel hair–I think I just like a meatier noodle).

  • I love quick pasta meals, and this seems like it definitely fits the bill!
    I relate to the quirky likes and disliked in the kitchen… as I have many myself!

  • This sounds like a nice, simple and fresh pasta dish, no matter which kind of pasta you put the dressing on.

  • Yay for EDF! I love that mag…

    You guys were certainly made for each other with your foodie quirks!

  • “Pastavore”… like that word.

    And I think I’m going to have to admit that the corn thing is weirder than the spaghetti thing! 🙂

  • I could be described as a pastavore, too! I love the simplicity of this dish and I’m sure I have all the ingredients at any given time! Yum!

  • so simple, yet it looks so delicious!

  • My husband LOVES this dish – thanks for posting it! We’ve made it several times already – including a few times on vacation. It’s simple enough to make it with just a few ingredients, but superdelicious!

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