Cherry tomato and Basil Rigatoni

Ingredients:

• 1-2 onions, diced(preferably Tropea is you can get them!)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 400g-500g of fresh, good quality cherry or baby plum tomatoes, sliced in half
• 500g of dried Rigatoni (or other pasta shape of your choosing)
• 150g of red Leicester cheese, cut into 1 cm cubes
• A large handful of basil, sliced thinly
• Vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil, for frying

Method:

1. Fry the onion in a bit of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot, until soft and starting to brown, approx 5 min. Add your garlic and fry for an additional minute
2. To your pot, add your dry pasta and halved, fresh cherry tomatoes. Add black pepper if desired. Add enough vegetable stock to your pot so that the liquid line sits just under the level of dry pasta. Do not add too much, you can always add more later if needed. Turn your heat to medium, and cook the pasta whilst stirring frequently. The dry pasta will start to absorb the stock and tomato juices whilst cooking, creating an incredibly flavorful dish. As all stock gets fully absorbed, try the pasta to ensure it's fully cooked. If it is not ready, add a small amount more stock or water and continue to cook until the pasta is done. There should not be a lot of excess liquid/sauce when fully cooked, otherwise the dish will end up rather watery.
3. As a final step, remove from the heat add the cubed red Leicester cheese and fresh basil to the pot and store through the pasta. Cover the pot with a lid and allow the residual heat to melt the cheese for a couple of minutes
4. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve hot, with additional shredded basil for garnish on top.

Notes:

• This dish does not tend to reheat very well due to the melted cheese. If you know you will have leftovers, then only add red Leicester to the portion of pasta intend to eat, stirring the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.
• This dish pairs nicely with other fresh herbs as well. Fresh thyme and oregano work very well.
• Other cheeses can be used, but the mild taste of red Leicester and it's capacity to melt allow the richness if the tomatoes to shine through this dish.