Sun-dried Tomato and Garlic Pasta

This is one of the recipes that I served at the meal where the idea for Food for Thought originated (see post dated Sept. 28, 2009). My sisters and I have been making it for decades and in fact, I thought that it was my sister P. who developed the recipe. It turns out that it was her friend Linda’s brother-in-law in L.A. who introduced this recipe to our family way back when sun-dried tomatoes were a happening-thing in California and a bit of novelty in Ontario.

Ingredients:
- about a pound of short pasta
- about ¾ cup of finely sliced re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes
- about a quarter of a cup of finely-chopped garlic
- about ½ cup of olive oil
- about ½ cup of freshly grated Parmesan
- freshly ground black pepper to taste

The first thing to do is to rehydrate the tomatoes. Do so according to the instructions on the package…it usually simply involves putting them in hot water for a while. You can substitute sun-dried tomatoes that have been packed oil if you don’t want to go through the re-hydrating step; however, the non-oil packed tomatoes are generally brighter in both colour and flavour. Place the pasta in a large pot of boiling well-salted water to cook. In the meantime, chop the tomatoes and garlic. Heat the oil in the bottom of a large heavy-bottomed skillet over a medium heat and add the garlic; the important thing here is to cook the garlic without browning/burning it. Add the tomatoes to heat them, then drain the cooked pasta and add it to the skillet. Mix everything well so that the pasta is coated in the sauce; just before serving, toss with the Parmesan.

I like to think this recipe is very 70's L.A.

Editorial Note: I don't actually measure anything when I make this recipe; add or subtract amounts of ingredients to suit your taste.