Pasta With Burst Cherry Tomatoes Recipe (2024)

I first tried this July 2014, I played with the recipe and tried some feta as a Greek play on the mint. Might also drop the panchetta and use some cured black olives. Just thoughts.

LOVE that Ms. Clark adds options for vegetarian - was wondering how to substitute pancetta's umami and fat - and there it is - at the bottom of the recipe! Pecorino! Way to go Ms. Clark!

Very Tuscan to use mint in place of the expected basil. Nice change. The two are actually pretty much interchangeable in many Italian recipes. Often, people don't identify the difference. Also, good, thick-cut bacon can substitute for pancetta if family members don't like that definitive pancetta flavor.

In reply to my own question, I went ahead and made the recipe as I first remembered it, with whole grape tomatoes. After about 6 minutes on medium to high heat (5-6 on a gas range with 10 as maximum), they had almost all split. Then I just used a cooking spoon to mash them down a bit and the tomatoes that weren't yet "burst" did so easily, with the result a lovely, sweet sauce. I am not sure why the recipe was altered to include cutting in half, but it's not necessary.

This may seem like a lot of mint —and it is — but I piled it on and was glad I did. Makes the dish fresh and unique.

Served this for a crowd at the cottage and it was gone in an instant. Ricotta is not optional! Transforms the dish.

This recipe is perfect as is with one slight edit: after frying the pancetta, remove and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Mixing in the pancetta at the end - just before the herbs - ensures the pancetta remains crispy, which adds a crunchy, textural element to the dish.

To make quick work of the mint, just tear off the tender end-stem leaves and then pull the rest off by sliding your fingers backward from stem end to base. I got all the leaves off in under 2 minutes. Then just bunch them up and rip roughly. Another minute.

mixing some fresh basil leaves with the mint sounds like it would be good

A real winner. Half the recipe makes a fast delicious generous dinner for two. I used feta on top and it went very well.

Delicious. Don't mess with it until you've tried it exactly as written, including some high-quality ricotta. The substitutions & additions suggested by other cooks are sound, but I doubt the results would be as elegant as the original. (De-stemming & ripping enough mint to fill 3 cups makes the total prep time WAY longer than 20 minutes.)

Pls, drop the butter: extra-virgin oil (EVO), only!This is a Mediterranean recipe and butter is the only one out of the scope of Mediterranean cuisine.I know that butter makes sweeter the dish; indeed, genuine and rough flavor of EVO is the best and great thing of our Med taste (and life style, I would say).Another principle of our cuisine is simplicity: not more than only one cooking fat at the same time.I'm Italian from Rome.

This got rave reviews from the "eaters." I had to make use of what was in the kitchen so a few substitutions: bacon (blanched first) instead of pancetta, parsley instead of mint, and I added zucchini that just came in from the garden. It was great. Even though I used the bacon, I stuck with pecorino since that's what I had on hand.

Terrific! A new entry on the favorites list. Prep time is closer to 45 minutes, however.

Just made this recipe following all directions and it was a hit with four foodies! No substitutions and perfect! I used high quality ingredients such as good pancetta and fresh ricotta. Because I had company coming, I had all ingredients prepared and the dish prepared through the roasting of the tomatoes. When we were ready for dinner, cooked the pasta and finished off the dish. This is definitely a keeper 👩‍🍳

I usually follow a recipe pretty closely the first time, but tonight I improvised. I used bacon instead of pancetta and basil instead of mint. I also omitted the butter, because the bacon provided a lot more fat than pancetta would have. As another posted suggested, I drained the bacon after cooking it and saved about half of it to crisp up and sprinkle on top. After all that tinkering, it was still wonderful! A total hit, and I had to promise to make it again soon.

Used bacon instead of pancetta. Tastes great even using Safeway tomatoes in the middle of winter.

Add more garlicSkip butter finish at the end

I'm one person with way too many cherry tomatoes: Would my leftovers work okay as a cold pasta salad for a pot luck picnic if I hold off on the mint & scallions and toss those in with some added olive oil just before serving?

Excellent summer pasta! I’ve made this recipe 3 times in two weeks and would give it 10 stars if I could. I don’t change a thing about it, and it’s so easy to throw together. I’m not usually a mint girl and thought the mint would be too overpowering, but it’s incredibly balanced and can’t imagine the dish without it. We like to serve it with a salad and garlic bread.

Very simple, very good. Used basil rather than mint and no meat. As always with NYT recipes, made all the sauce and half the pasta.

Made this with basil instead of mint. Super delicious and surprisingly rich.

I made this for our weekly packed lunches—it goes very well with those small mozzarella pearls!

I made this vegetarian, so I added mushrooms for some savory flavor, but I think I'll omit them next time. Good weeknight dinner!

Had farfalle, about-to-be-out-of-date ricotta, prosciutto left over from a charcuterie board, and just enough cherry tomatoes. These ingredients worked, and mint from the garden pulled things together. Delicious!

I happened to have some Guanciale and a bunch of basil as well as feta. Delicious substitutions. I threw in a Serrano pepper instead of the pepper flakes as well. Very versatile recipe. I had beautiful cherry tomatoes.

No pancetta; extra garlic and extra tomatoes; extra butter; put pecorino Romano in with butter;used ricotta salata shaved on top, fresh ricotta and basil. Loved it!!!!

Have made this 3x now due to an abundance of cherry tomatoes here. Changed it up last night: omitted the pancetta since we were serving with grilled Italian sausages, and we *always* use basil with tomatoes and sausage. The sauce seemed a little skimpy so I tempered about 1/4 c half & half with some of the hot pasta water to finish cooking the pasta in the tomato mixture. Oh my. The ricotta was an unnecessary indulgence. Suitable for company - easy, beautiful, perfectly seasonal for now.

Park=parm!Could use anchovies instead of pancetta.

Have any of you made this and served slightly room temp or cold? Was going to make as a side dish tomorrow for a girls happy hour