organic fusilli con buco
simple summer pasta ingredients
garden basil
chopped heirloom mini tomatoes
garden jalapeno
simple heirloom tomato sauce
summer fusilli pasta dish
summer heirloom tomato fusilli
The simplicity of fresh, chopped tomatoes, a little olive oil and your favorite pasta is something to be appreciated in its own right. But it's also something that can be spruced up a bit with some other fresh flavors to really elevate it to a "wow" dish, without diminishing its lovely simple quality. I'm not going to write this out in typical recipe fashion - I'd rather this serve as inspiration for you to come up with your own perfect balance of flavors to spruce up a plain pasta dish!Try starting out with about 12 oz of pasta (one of my top favorites happens to be this kind of fusilli):a pint or two of tomatoes (I went with a mix of mini heirlooms for some shape, color and flavor variety), a handful of fresh basil, some fresh chives, garlic, lemon, shallot:the fresher the herbs, the better - the basil in this case was clipped from our garden:and some sea salt, ground pepper and chili flakes (if you like a little heat- just a touch really complements and intensifies the other flavors in this dish) for seasoning. And of course some olive oil.I got all of my ingredients prepped first - chopped the tomatoes:and also finely chopped 3 small cloves of garlic and one small shallot, chopped the chives and basil roughly and sliced the lemon in half. Peter then plucked a jalapeno from our garden and chopped that up for an extra boost of flavorful heat to go in at the end:A tablespoon of olive oil then went into a large pan heating over medium heat, and a minute later in went the garlic and shallots to saute until they began to soften. I then zested in a little more than half of the lemon and squeezed the juice of the full fruit into the pan as well. After a quick stir, I added the tomatoes to the mix, as well as a pinch or two of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. I gave it a stir every couple of minutes and let it cook over just under medium heat; after 8 minutes or so the tomatoes will be slightly broken down, softened and the sauce will thicken a bit as a result - it's good to reduce the heat to low at this point:Meanwhile, I had water heating to a boil for the pasta, which ultimately should cook to al dente doneness. Once the pasta was cooked and drained, I added the basil, chives, a few shakes of chili flakes to the sauce, stirred, and added the pasta to the sauce as well as a drizzle of olive oil (maybe one tablespoon):We then served the pasta into our bowls - if you're using japaleno too, add it to your liking into your individual portion. And a little extra basil on top never hurt anyone:And there you have it. Simple in its construction and ingredients, and light yet bursting with flavor. A wonderful summery pasta that certainly can be enjoyed year-round if tomatoes are good and fresh. Oh and what's that light dusting on top of the pasta in the photo above? Not actual cheese - this is a vegan dish - stay tuned for more info :)