Whole Wheat Pasta With Roasted Shrimp and Cherry Tomatoes

Cookin'Diva's Note:

Roasting is a great technique to boost flavor without adding extra oil or calories. As the tomatoes roast, they caramelize, sweeten, and intensify in flavor. The dish is so flavorful with tomatoes, basil and Romano cheese that we often enjoy this dish as a vegetarian entree, without shrimp. If you are using shrimp, be careful to watch the them carefully when roasting, because small shrimp can be cooked in two minutes!

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 50 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 lb shrimp , raw, de-veined, shelled
• 1 tablespoon Italian dressing (see note in directions)
• 8 ounces pasta , whole wheat penne
• ¼ cup basil , slivered
• ¼ cup romano cheese , grated

Directions:

1. Note on Italian dressing: I use about 1/4 cup for marinating, but discard most of it after marinading. I list 1 T. in the ingredient list so that the nutrition facts more accurately reflect what is eaten and what is discarded.
2. Marinate shrimp in about 1/4 cup Italian dressing. A Ziplock bag is handy for this step. **You'll be discarding most of the marinade later.
3. While shrimp is marinating, heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Toss tomatoes with olive oil and garlic salt. Place tomatoes in shallow metal roasting pan, cut sides UP, which will help tomato juices to evaporate. Roast 30 minutes until bottoms start to caramelize and have bits of black (metal pans helps achieve caramelization during roasting).
4. When tomatoes are done, push them toward the center of the pan and place shrimp around the outside of the pan. Discard marinade. Continue to roast tomatoes and shrimp about 4-6 more minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp (turn once after 2 minutes).
5. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with cooked tomatoes and shrimp. Use the reserved pasta water to clean up any bits in the roasting pan, and then add this flavorful water to the pasta as well.
6. Toss everything with basil leaves and romano cheese. Serve.