Fresh Tomato Pasta with Herbed Breadcrumbs "Montreal"

This is such an easy and wonderful fresh tomato pasta dish! I named it 'Montreal' because I first saw it on La Table de Nana's blog just a short while ago and Monique is a Canadian blogger. You can see Monique's version by clicking on the link.  I knew when my cherry tomatoes started to ripen, this would be one one of the first things I wanted to make with them.

The thing that intrigued me the most of about this pasta sauce is that you simply place all of the ingredients in a bowl in the morning and let them 'marinate' all day. The smell coming from the kitchen is amazing!

Fresh cut-up tomatoes, fresh chopped basil, a minced garlic clove or two and a good 1/3 cup or so of extra virgin olive oil - that's it! I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and stirred the tomato mixture occasionally throughout the day.

The other thing that was mentioned was the addition of  homemade croutons pulverized with more fresh basil which is sprinkled over the pasta and sauce.  I love to make homemade croutons with a loaf of good French bread from a local bakery.  I rub both sides of the slices of bread with olive oil, sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper, cut them into cubes and bake them on a baking sheet in a 350F degree oven for about 10 minutes.  My husband loves these so much that now I include the trimmed crusts when I bake them and he eats them as a snack before dinner :)

After the croutons have cooled, add them to a food processor or blender with a several leaves of basil and mince into breadcrumbs.

I warmed the marinated tomato mixture gently on the stove while the pasta was cooking.  Topped with the homemade basil breadcrumbs and some freshly ground Parmigiana Reggiano - this was just wonderful!

Thank you, Monique!