Olive oil and garlic meet for a wholesome dish

Matt Jenner

Contributing Writer

When you're looking for a light vegetarian side dish or a delicious way to dress up your favorite pasta, these cherry tomatoes with pine nuts will add bursts of flavor to your meal. Juicy cherry tomatoes cook in olive oil with garlic and crunchy pine nuts, while balsamic, red wine vinegar and fresh basil help cut through those strong flavors.

This simple recipe takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. It's best prepared in the summer, when cherry tomatoes are at their peak — as early as May and continuing until October — but is delicious to make all year. In true Italian fashion, the simplicity of the dish really allows the ingredients to shine through. Serve it over spaghetti or linguini.

Cooktop Cove

Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes with Pine Nuts

4 to 6

3 minutes

12 minutes

15 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 basket (12 ounces) fresh cherry tomatoes, stems removed and washed

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil, plus extra for garnish

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and black pepper

In a large skillet, toast the pine nuts over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes and put into a bowl.

Put olive oil into the skillet and heat it over medium-high heat.

Add the garlic, and sauté until it becomes fragrant and lightly browned, about 1 minute.

Add cherry tomatoes to the skillet, and toss with the oil and garlic until fully coated.

Allow to cook until tomatoes are heated through and start to burst, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the pine nuts, basil, balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar, and toss to combine with the tomatoes.

Let cook until the tomatoes cook down more, about 3 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Transfer the tomato mixture to a serving plate.

Garnish with more chopped or whole-leaf basil and toasted pine nuts.

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