It’s finally here…the most delicious time of year! Plums and peaches, so syrupy sweet, their juices dribble down your chin with each bite. Farm fresh cucumbers, shiny green zucchini and eggplant explode from market shelves. Heirloom tomatoes, rosy red and yellow and green, are fragrantly ripe and bursting with flavor. I want to relish all these wonderful ingredients–capture the essence of the harvest–and prepare them as simply as possible to highlight their best qualities. This pasta dish perfectly plays up those incredible tomatoes and the aromatic basil that’s taken over my herb garden, and, best of all (for these lazy days of summer), there is almost no cooking involved. Oh, but there’s no sacrifice in flavor–this tasty sauce will tempt and tantalize your tastebuds.
Raw Tomato Sauce with Whole Wheat Orecchiette
To bring out the best of these ingredients, allow the raw components to sit and stew for a while. A variety of chopped ripe tomatoes are tossed with lots of freshly minced garlic, and those perfumy basil leaves. Extra virgin olive oil and seasoning helps encourage the tomatoes to exude their juices, creating the sauce for this delightful pasta dish.
Use the freshest tomatoes you can find, the more colorful the better. In this version, I chose a mix of red and yellow grape tomatoes, which complemented the orrechiette (little ear) shape of pasta. But the beauty of this dish is that it can be made with whatever tomatoes look best and paired with whatever pasta shape you like.
Chop the grape or cherry tomatoes in half; if using larger tomatoes, dice them into bite-sized pieces. Finely mince 3 or 4 large garlic cloves and roughly julienne fresh basil leaves.
Stir all together in a large bowl, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and season well with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you want to add a bit of heat, stir in a pinch of chili pepper flakes. Let the mixture stand for at least 1/2 hour (and up to an hour) so that flavors can meld. The tomatoes will exude their juices, creating a tangy, tasty sauce.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and season well with sea salt. Add the pasta–I prefer to use whole wheat whenever possible and I think it works especially well in this dish.
Cook according to package directions, keeping the pasta al dente. Reserve a cup of cooking water before draining the pasta well.
Toss the pasta in the bowl with the raw tomato sauce, adding in some more freshly chopped basil. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding some of the pasta water, if needed, to loosen up the sauce.
Serve in bowls, topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Here again you can customize this recipe to your liking: I used shards of Parmesan cheese to garnish the pasta this time, but I’ve also finished this dish by mixing grated ricotta salata into the sauce. Creamy goat cheese or crumbled feta would add great character, too–use your imagination. Fresh and refreshing, this simple pasta plate is the perfect way to showcase those gorgeous tomatoes.
Serves 4:
2 pints of cherry or grape tomatoes,
or 2 pounds heirloom or plum tomatoes
3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons julienned basil leaves, divided
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finish
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
chili pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound whole wheat orecchiette, penne, or fusilli pasta
Parmesan cheese shards or grated ricotta salata
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Gordous and delicious,
There is nothing like fresh, ripe tomatoes dressed and combined with pasta to make a meal special.
Thank you, Abby!
what a gorgeous dish! Clean, fresh flavors, can’t beat that 😀