Heidi Sze's Pasta Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomato, Beans and Corn

ingredients

• 650g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 4 cloves garlic, skin on
• ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Flaky sea salt
• 1 x 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 large ears of corn, shucked
• 300g short pasta, such as casarecce
• 1 shallot, very finely chopped
• 2 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 100g crumbly goats cheese or feta
• A handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

method

Preheat the oven to 160˚C. (fan-forced) and put a large pot of water on to boil for the corn and pasta.

Place the sliced cherry tomatoes and garlic (skin on) in a baking tray with high sides (ideally one that fits all the tomatoes snug without allowing them to pile on top of one another). Pour over ⅓ cup oil and a pinch of salt, then toss to combine.

Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and add the cannellini beans with a small pinch of salt. Stir, then place the baking tray back in the oven for a final 15–20 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and sticky-looking, and the beans are golden with a pink/red tinge from the tomato juice. Keep an eye on the garlic and remove when golden, soft and cooked through (depending on the size of your cloves, this might be between 30–50 minutes).

While the tomatoes are roasting, cook the corn in the boiling water for 5 minutes until just tender. Carefully remove the corn from the water and set aside, then salt the water and add the pasta and cook until al dente, then drain.

While the pasta is cooking, make a simple shallot vinaigrette by adding the chopped shallot to a jar for which you have a lid. Add the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of oil and a tiny pinch of salt. Put the lid on the jar and shake well.

Place the drained pasta in a large serving bowl and add 1–2 tablespoons of the shallot vinaigrette, stirring to combine.

Once the tomatoes and beans are cooked, pour over the pasta, including all the pan juices. Stir to combine. Shave the corn kernels off the cob and add them to the bowl and stir. Pour over ⅔ of the remaining shallot vinaigrette and stir. Taste some of the pasta and add more vinaigrette as desired. Crumble over the cheese, scatter the basil and serve.