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Roasting cherry tomatoes in balsamic vinegar is THE BEST way to eat them.

They’re even better when you add them on top of a tomato-y chickpea orzo pasta, along with some homemade almond ricotta!

Serves 4

🌱 1 large garlic bulb
🌱 olive oil
🌱 400g (14oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
🌱 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
🌱 salt + pepper
🌱 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock
🌱 3 tbsp tomato purée
🌱 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
🌱 300g (10.6oz) orzo
🌱 1 x 570g (20oz) jar of chickpeas, drained (see notes)
🌱 1 handful of fresh basil

For the almond ‘ricotta’:
🌱 140g (1 cup) blanched almonds
🌱 1 lemon, juice only
🌱 180ml (3/4 cup) unsweetened plant-based milk
🌱 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 425°F.

Slice the head off the garlic bulb to expose the cloves, then add the bulb to a roasting tray cut-side-up. Drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil, then wrap the bulb with baking paper and roast for 30 minutes.

For the ‘ricotta’, add the almonds to a bowl and cover with hot water from a kettle, then set aside for later.

Remove the tray from the oven and push the garlic bulb to one corner. Add the halved cherry tomatoes to the tray, then pour the balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the tomatoes, along with pinches of salt and pepper. Mix well, then return everything to the oven for 12-14 minutes at 180°C fan / 400°F or until the cherry tomatoes begin to burst.

Pour the stock into a large saucepan, followed by the tomato purée and nutritional yeast. Stir, then bring to a gentle boil and add the orzo. Gently boil the orzo for 9-11 minutes or until almost al dente, stirring regularly to prevent the orzo sticking to the bottom of the pan. Note: add extra hot water from a kettle, if necessary.

Next, make the almond ‘ricotta’. Drain the almonds from earlier and add them to a high-speed blender, along with the lemon juice, plant-based milk, nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt. Blend until it’s thick and smooth, like ricotta (add a splash of water, if necessary), then set aside.

Remove the tray from the oven for a second time. Leaving the cherry tomatoes in the tray, take out the garlic bulb and discard the baking paper. Squeeze out the soft garlic cloves onto a chopping board (hold the bulb with a tea towel if it’s too hot). Finely chop the garlic cloves, then add them to the orzo pasta, followed by the chickpeas. Finely chop most of the basil (save a handful of leaves for topping), then stir the chopped basil into the orzo pasta and cook for a minute.

Give the pasta a taste and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Then add the pasta to bowls and top with the roasted cherry tomatoes, along with all the leftover juices from the tray, as well as the almond ‘ricotta’, remaining basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and an extra pinch of pepper.

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