Pasta with Bella Sun Luna Sun Dried Tomatoes & Roasted Zucchini

Several weeks back I was contacted by someone at Mooney Farms to do a review of their Bella Sun Luci sun dried tomato products. Little did I know when I accepted the offer that besides two bags of dried tomatoes, I would also get two jars of oil packed tomatoes and two jars of sun dried tomato bruschetta. The possibilities for using these products seemed endless and I couldn’t wait to get cooking.

First let me tell you a little bit about Mooney Farms. They were a small family owned business based out of San Francisco around 1987. Their Bella Sun Luci brand brought them much notoriety; with the winning recipe for sun dried tomatoes. In 1994, to meet their growing demand,  they moved to a bigger facility in Chico, California.  To this day they continue to use the original sun dried tomato recipe which has been handed down over many generations.

Over the past few weeks I've been experimenting with all of the sun dried tomato products I received.  Who knew that cooking with these little gems could be so much fun. Unlike other brands the Bella Sun Luci tomatoes are very moist and tender...able to be eaten and enjoyed right from the package. In other words there's no re-hydration needed as with most similar products.

So far I've used the tomatoes to enhance salad dressings, add dimension to crostini spreads and bring some basic dishes to a new level.   My recipe for Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes & Roasted Zucchini is now a new favorite at our house.  Try it and let me know what you think.

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes & Roasted Zucchini

2 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

2 garlic cloves, left unpeeled

olive oil

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/4 pound pasta, cooked, drained, 3/4 cup cooking liquid reserved

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

4 Bella Sun Luna jarred sun dried tomato halves, chopped

grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss zucchini and garlic with some olive oil in a bowl. Spread on a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes.

When the zucchini is tender remove from oven.  Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat add sun dried tomatoes, zucchini and red pepper.  Squeeze roasted garlic from shell and saute with the vegetables until everything is heated through. 

In the meantime cook pasta according to directions on box..  When still al denti add to pan with the vegetables; also adding some pasta cooking liquid.  When pasta is well coated add the fresh basil and serve sprinkled with grated cheese.