Hey! How’s your Monday going? Want to share a bowl of buttery pasta?
I’m juggling finishing the last of the weekend’s chocolate chip cookies (if you caught my Snapchat, you saw my husband doing the baking) and watching the Tony Awards — and I’ve been half-seriously trying to turn this whole evening into a little theatrical production. Spoiler: it’s not happening. But I did make dinner that’s worth sharing.
At first I thought this dish was too simple to post — I used to skip the easy stuff — but then I remembered how hooked I get on things. Compound butter is my current obsession: a few minutes of prep turns plain butter into something that elevates pasta, toast, eggs and more. Yes, I make multiple versions and yes, I will happily serve them relentlessly for weeks.
The idea is embarrassingly simple — roast garlic until the cloves are sweet and caramelized, smash them into softened unsalted butter, whip until smooth, and shape into a log or medallions to chill. That garlic-rich butter is ready to melt on hot pasta (or toast, or eggs — the list goes on).
For this meal I roast cherry tomatoes while the garlic is cooling. The tomatoes burst and caramelize in the oven, and tossed with bucatini, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, red pepper flakes and the roasted garlic butter, the result is effortless and comforting.
Quick aside: can someone point me to easily available whole wheat bucatini? If you know a reliable source that ships, tell me — I should stop shopping on my phone in bed at 3 a.m. That’s how questionable impulse purchases happen. Also, I’ve noticed my phone auto-corrects “button” to “butter” sometimes, which I strangely appreciate.
Anyway, let’s admire those roasted garlic butter rounds — they may sound fancy, but they’re just practical, flavorful butter you can slice and store. This is the sort of dinner two new parents make when they need a quick, satisfying meal that feels a little grown-up but doesn’t require too much effort.
Summer heat can make the idea of turning on the oven feel daunting, but roasting garlic and tomatoes for this dish is worth it — roast the garlic low and slow until the cloves are caramelized, then roast the tomatoes until they just burst. If you prepare the compound butter in advance, the whole dinner comes together in about 30 minutes once the pasta is cooking.
This is an easy, no-fuss meal that tastes far more indulgent than it feels to make. It’s a reliable weeknight dinner when you want something comforting and simple, but with real depth of flavor thanks to roasted garlic and good butter.
Roasted Garlic Butter Bucatini with Burst Tomatoes
1 hour
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Ingredients
Roasted garlic butter
- 2 bulbs garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pasta
- 16 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 pound bucatini pasta
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). To roast the garlic, slice the top off each bulb to expose the cloves, remove loose papery skin, drizzle with olive oil, wrap tightly in foil and roast 45–60 minutes until cloves are golden and caramelized. Let cool slightly.
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Squeeze the roasted cloves into a bowl, add the salt and mash with a fork. Stir in the softened butter until evenly combined. Shape into a log or medallions in plastic wrap and refrigerate to firm. (You can make this ahead.)
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Keeping the oven on, toss the tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast 20–25 minutes until they begin to burst. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the bucatini according to package directions.
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Drain the pasta and toss with 1–2 tablespoons of the roasted garlic butter (use more to taste). Add the grated cheese, red pepper flakes and roasted tomatoes, then toss with basil. Serve immediately.
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Wish that tomato was a trampoline.