Yewande Komolafe - Waffles + Mochi: Get Cooking!: Learn to Cook Tomato Candy Pasta, Gratitouille, and Other Tasty Recipes: A Kids Cookbook

Have you ever seen a juicy red tomato and thought, I just want to squish it to bits!

Only every time I mop the produce section!

Well, now is your chance. This simple recipe channels your hands squishing power into a yummy, garlicky sauce you can spread on pizza or serve over cooked pasta.

Makes 2 cups

Time: 50 minutes

1 (28-ounce) can peeled whole tomatoes

cup olive oil , plus 2 tablespoons for drizzling

4 garlic cloves , smashed and peeled

1 teaspoon coarse salt , plus more to taste

Pour the tomatoes into a medium bowl. Use clean hands to squeeze them to release the juices and break them down into smaller pieces (or use the back of a wooden spoon).

In a medium saucepan, heat cup of the oil over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering hot, add the garlic and use a wooden spoon to stir frequently, cooking the garlic until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and stir. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until it deepens in color and reduces to about two-thirds of its original volume, about 40 minutes.

Sprinkle in the salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Stir and remove the pot from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt if necessary. Allow the sauce to cool slightly before using.

To store, let the sauce cool completely and transfer to a storage container with a lid. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Have you ever had tomato candy? Our friend Samin Nosrat, who is a chef and cookbook author, created this extra-special recipe for Waffles and Mochi that uses tiny, sweet tomatoes called cherry tomatoes. Its a delicious treat and a healthy reminder that the best things come to those who wait. Slow-roasting tomatoes really brings out their sweetness and makes them taste like fruitwhich is exactly what they are!

And the texture might be the real star here! As the skins crisp up, the interior becomes chewy and the flavors burst with each bite, just like candy.

Makes 1 cups

Time: 5 hours (mostly inactive!)

2 pints cherry tomatoes , stemmed

cup extra-virgin olive oil

teaspoon sugar

Fine sea salt

1 pound short pasta , such as penne

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese , plus more for serving

16 fresh basil leaves

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 225F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with 2 tablespoons oil to coat. Add the sugar and teaspoon salt and gently toss again to coat. Using your hands, but being very careful not to squish the tomatoes, spread them out on the lined baking sheet.

Transfer them to the oven to bake. Every 30 minutes or so (between binge sessions of your favorite show!), check on the tomatoes and jiggle the pan to make sure they are not sticking, and rotate the pan 180 degrees (front to back) to keep the tomatoes cooking evenly. Bake until the tomatoes are semi-dried and shriveled and start to taste like candy, about 5 hours. Remove from the oven and keep warm.

When the tomato candy is almost done, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add enough salt to make the water taste really saltylike the sea! (Aim for about 1 heaping tablespoon salt to 7 quarts water.)

Add the pasta, stir, and cook until it is just under al dentetry saying it aloud, al dan taywhich means the pasta is still firm when you bite into it, about 1 minute less than the package directions. Use a cup to scoop out 1 cup of the pasta cooking water (youll learn why in the next step) and set aside. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl.

Add the tomato candy, parmesan, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the bowl of pasta. Tear the basil leaves into the pasta in large pieces or use scissors and get to snipping. Stir everything together. Now heres a chefs secret: Sometimes the pasta needs a little more moisture to help everything come together. If you find that your pasta is a little dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the extra pasta cooking water to help the cheese and basil cling to the pasta.

Taste your dish and add more salt if you think it needs it. Serve hot with more parmesan!

BEE FLEXIBLE!

If you dont have time to slow-roast the tomatoes, increase the oven temperature to 350F. Skip the sugar (it will burn at the higher temperature) and toss the tomatoes with only the olive oil and salt. Roast as directed until the tomatoes are shriveled and just starting to split, about 45 minutes. Tomatoes cooked at this temperature wont be quite as sweet, but they will still be delicious!

Tomato candy is so delicious that youll want to doubleor even triplethis recipe, especially in the summer when tomatoes are in season. Store extra tomato candy in a glass jar, cover the tomatoes with olive oil, and refrigerate for up to 6 weeks. Or freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid and then pack them into freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months.

Howdy, chefs! Im Texthats short for Texture. Im a taste bud that works for your tongue, but I dont care about how things taste. Im here to see how food feels .

Thats right. You know all about taste and smell, right? But our tongues touch our food, too. Is it dry as the desert or gloopy like glue? Thats texture!

Heres a rip-roaring adventure you and your tongue can go on together. Find foods with many different textures in your pantry and give em a whirl!

The texture of our food can affect our mood the more we chomp down on crunchy foods, the happier we are!

Taste It!