fresh tomato pasta

In terms of food, I do believe this is my favorite time of year. Summer. Aside from the two outdoor weddings photographed on 100+ degree days, she's been treating me well. Our local market is exploding with color and flavor; eggplant, tomatoes, peaches, melon and squash make it into our basket every Saturday. Our dinners are simple, inspired by the abundant fresh produce and the desire to keep it all as whole as possible. While I do love to cook, the idea of spending an hour preparing dinner over a hot stove is less than desireable in the middle of July. Which is why this recipe is my new favorite.

Sarah is my office mate, Beyond the Flavor partner, fellow food lover, and very dear friend. Nearly every afternoon we turn away from our computers and ask what the other is having for dinner. On Monday, when I was clueless about our evening menu but mentioned that I had a bowl full of beautiful, ripe tomatoes, she told me about this dish. It is about as simple as it gets, relying fully on the flavor of summer's best bounty. Tomatoes are chopped to bite-size pieces and tossed with sliced basil, minced garlic, and a generous amount of olive oil. The mixture is then refrigerated for at least an hour before being folded into hot, cooked pasta. Add some sausage (which we'd grilled the previous evening), salt, pepper and Parmigiano, and dinner is served.

Happy weekend, friends!

Summer Tomato Pasta

serves 4

To make this dish vegetarian, remove the sausage and add red pepper flakes to your marinade.

Ingredients

• 3 large tomatoes
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
• 12 leaves fresh basil
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup good-quality olive oil
• 1 cup crumbled hot italian sausage, cooked
• 1 pound brown rice pasta
• salt + pepper
• fresh Parmigiano Reggiano

 Method

1. Chop tomatoes. Slice basil. Mince garlic. Toss all together in a shallow dish with olive oil and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. Cook pasta. I like to bring my salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and then turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid. The pasta should be done in 8-10 minutes.
3. Drain pasta and add back to pot. Toss with tomato mixture and add crumbled sausage. Salt + pepper to taste.
4. Serve with shavings of Parmigiano and an arugula salad.

Comments

[Eva @ 1 big bite]

The farmers markets are beautiful this time of the year!
This is a perfect summer recipe, fast and easy. Thanks for sharing. Everything looks delicious.
Stay cold
Eva

[anita]

as always, beautiful...my tomatoes are just coming up ripe...this will be a great way to utilize the bumper crop that is sure to surface any day now. or i could just come to your house ;)

[Ness]

I made a similar pasta dish a few months ago (with canned tomatoes...) and I have to say, it was the best pasta dish I have ever made! I'm glad you've reminded me of it and told me how to make it fresh. :)

[Foodie Jeff]

This dish truly looks amazing. My mouth is watering and it's 9:12am. Something about delicious basil, tomatoes, and garlic. I cooked up a Summer Pasta last week, http://hometownslop.blogspot.com/2012/09/fresh-summer-pasta.html#

Thanks for sharing your delicious food with the world.