This dish came in a burst of pasta inspiration one day; years back; and it's been a staple of our pasta repertoire ever since. It's rich; savory; sweet and herbaceous -- and it's a bit unusual; too. It makes use of our beloved caramelized onion puree; aka caramelized onion magic; adding extra olive oil and starchy pasta cooking water to transform the puree into a silky; supple sauce. If you have some peppery arugula on hand; feel free to toss a few handfuls of that into the final mix; too; a solid black pepper bite is one of the key elements here (along with sweet-tart-garlicky roasted tomatoes and sweet-savory caramelized onions). We love this with bucatini; but any twirl-friendly pasta will do.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to a roasting pan or an oven-safe sauté pan big enough to hold all the tomatoes; snugly. Place the tomatoes in the pan; cut-side-up; sprinkle the garlic over top; and season thoroughly with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes; until the tomatoes have collapsed and the pan is filled with garlic-tomato-olive oil juices. (Yum.)Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. Drain; reserving ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss the pasta with the roasted tomatoes and all their pan juices. In a blender; thin the caramelized onion magic with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a good bit of the pasta water (at least 2-3 tablespoons). Once silky and saucy; toss it with the pasta and tomatoes; add the herbs; and finish things off with a final sprinkle of sea salt and a load of black pepper.*don’t bother halving any super tiny ones; just roast ‘em whole and they’ll burst