Pasta with Tomato, Garlic, Watercress and a Balsamic Glaze

On Friday, I had dinner at Stella’s the Modern Pantry.  A delicious flat bread with artichokes, arugula, tomato, pesto and an unbelievably scrumptious balsamic glaze.  I could not get over how delicious the whole meal was, but I was completely obsessed with the glaze.  I was delighted when I found out that I could actually purchase it there.

So, I did and this is what I did with it.

• 2 boxes pasta (I used mostaccioli, but I think I would have preferred the ridges on penne)
• Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 5 tomatoes, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 large bunch watercress
• the juice of one lemon
• kosher or sea salt
• black pepper
• balsamic glaze (you could substitute with a balsamic reduction)

Put up a pot of salted water with a big glub of oil in it, for the pasta – cook according to package directions.  Meanwhile chop the tomato and garlic.

When the pasta is done, drain and set aside.  The oil will help to prevent sticking, but using a plastic spoon, toss this every couple of minutes to further prevent sticking.  There’s nothing worse than a “log of pasta” all stuck together. Yuck.

Heat the pasta pot back up and add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the butter, when it’s hot, add the tomatoes and the garlic and a big pinch of salt. Cook until the tomatoes have released a lot of their juice

Add the broth and allow to cook, reducing by about a third – or till it starts to look a bit thick. Add the lemon juice and stir.

Put the pasta back in the pot, with the water cress and very gently toss – use a plastic spoon and be very gentle; you don’t want broken pasta.

Put a generous serving in a bowl and drizzle the glaze over the top.  salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Delicious!  The sweet and tangy glaze over the garlic and tomato and the tender watercress – just yum.  Should serve 8 – plan on more like 6 – no one would stop eating it.

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