Orecchiette with broiled grape tomatoes, two ways

Boil 225 g orecchiette in salted water.

Halve every grape tomato: clamp the fingers over it and saw with hardly any pressure until the knife bites the skin, so it neither crushes nor rolls. Put them on the sheet pan.

Halve the shallot, cut each half down the middle, then slice thin across into quarter moons; add to the pan.

Cut the garlic into big chunks, which are less likely to burn under the broiler. Chop the rosemary. Add both to the pan.

Season everything with pepper and salt, add plenty of olive oil, toss by hand to coat and spread into a single even layer.

Slide the pan right under the broiler on high; with the element red-hot it takes at the very most five minutes.

Take the pan out as soon as the tomato skins are browning; further and the tomatoes fall apart.

Drain the pasta and return half to the pan. Add the broiled vegetables, a little raw olive oil and fresh basil. Stir hard enough to break some tomatoes into a saucy consistency, but not so hard the insides leave the skins; keep intact halves. Top with cheese and a little fresh oil.

Variation, smooth sauce: put the other half of the pasta in the pan, set a sieve over it, tip in the roasted vegetables and grind them through with a wooden spoon, pushing down as you swirl, until only skins are left. A food mill can be used instead.

Mix a few of the chunks back in for texture, add fresh oil, tear in basil, toss to coat and top with cheese.