I have a good friend from Italy who told me years ago that a very popular meal from home is a simple pasta dish using fresh tomato and basil on top of cooked pasta. My friend Giovanni told me that many homes that don’t have air conditioning keep the house cool by limiting the amount of time heating up the kitchen during the summertime by creating dishes using fresh ingredients as much as possible. This dish is a prime example. It’s so easy to prepare in that it can be prepped in 15 minutes and ready to eat in an hour.
Summertime Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
serves 4 as a first course
Ingredients
1 lb Fresh Heirloom Tomatoes, not too soft (or any combination of fresh tomatoes)
1/4 cu Fresh Basil Leaves, loosely packed
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 tbl Garlic Infused Olive Oil, recipe below
1 tsp White Balsamic Reduction
2 tbl Capers
1/2 lb Pasta, I’ve used Fettuccini and Frussili
Parmigiano Reggiano, optional, finely grated
Method
Chop the tomatoes into a small dice and transfer them to a large bowl. Layer the basil leaves on a cutting board and then roll them up tightly. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice leaves into little ribbons (a chiffonade) and add to the tomatoes. Add garlic infused olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic reduction, and capers and toss ingredients to combine. Cover mixture with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for an hour or so.
Just before ready to serve, prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl. Sample tomato mixture and adjust the taste with additional salt and/or pepper, if necessary. Add tomatoes to pasta, toss to combine, and serve with grated parmigiano reggiano.