The one thing I realise while studying French cuisine is that I love tomatoes. That’s because they never really use tomatoes to flavour food – it’s always carrots, celery, onions and shallots acting as the main aromatics. In the rare event that the tomatoes do get used, they are cut up into petals or brunoise (tiny cubes) to use as garnish, because like everything French, it must elicit a “C’est jolie!” when presented. Or, they use tomato paste to add colour to a dish (Cook it well! Get rid of the acidity!). Just today, I put together a gorgeous salad in practically 2 minutes – sliced up beefsteak tomatoes on a bed of arugula, dolloped with burrata (creamier cousin of the mozzarella) and finished off with olive oil and fleur de sel. Amazing.
And because I can’t seem to get my fill of tomatoes at school, I try to make up for it by eating them a lot when I’m at home. Like in this pasta salad I learned from my friend Jennie. It’s linguini with colourful cherry tomatoes (not entirely necessary, but makes it look so pretty), arugula and a generous scattering of shaved Pecorino Romano cheese. All this comes together with shallots marinated in balsamic and olive oil. Let’s talk about substitutions: Do you have to use Percorino Romano? No. Any hard, salty cheese will do the job. I discovered Pecorino Romano with this salad, and can’t seem to get enough of it. What about shallots? You can use onions – just maybe rinse then in a little cold water before using so the onion flavour isn’t too overpowering.
Linguine with Tomatoes, Arugula and Pecorino Cheese
Serves: 4
Adapted from: Bon Appétit
1 shallot, finely chopped
120ml / 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
350g / 2 cups mixed cherry tomatoes, diced
100g / 3 cups arugula
300g linguine
1 cup coarsely grated Pecorino Romano
Salt and freshly ground pepper
- In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, shallots and salt. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes.
- Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm to bite. Drain off the water and toss the pasta with olive oil and freshly ground pepper.
- Finally, in a large bowl, toss together the pasta with the marinated shallots, cherry tomatoes, arugula and Pecorino cheese. Season (Pecorino Romano is a very salty cheese, so season accordingly.)
- Serve warm or at room temperature.