Absolute BEST Summer Pasta Recipe

Here is one reason to love summer: You just can't get tomatoes in the winter that are as good as they are now.

Here is my favorite recipe using them. I make this practically once a week. We NEVER get tired of it.

Thank you Pierre Franey. 

Pasta with fresh, uncooked tomato sauce
(Pierre Franey, The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet. Slightly revised by me.)

3-5 large summer tomatoes, about 2-1/2 pounds
4-6 large cloves garlic, peeled, left whole. Bruise them by smacking them with a mallet, or flatten them slightly with side of knife. (Make sure you don't hit them too hard so they break into a lot of pieces.)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup coarsely chopped basil
salt and generous amount of freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

1 pound rigatoni or other tubular pasta such as penne
1/4 pound shredded Fontina (or Muenster cheese or Italian sharp cheese if you can find it)
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1. Wash tomatoes. Core and chop into cubes about 3/4-inch square. There should be about 6 cups. Put in bowl.

2. Add garlic, pepper flakes, basil, s&p, olive oil. Cover. Let stand at room temperature several hours (all day). Or chill overnight and bring back to room temperature a few hours before serving.

3. Cook pasta.

4. Shred Fontina in food processor with coarse blade. (Or dice into tiny cubes.)

5. Remove garlic cloves from sauce!

6. Drain pasta. Spoon off 1/4 cup oil from surface of sauce. Add to pasta. Add parmesan cheese, toss. And half tomato sauce, toss. Add half remaining sauce and Fontina cheese, toss. Serve in bowls with remaining sauce spooned on top. 

(Or do what I do, just combine everything together and serve.)

Salad Niçoise with Grilled Tuna

There are many variations of this traditional salad from Nice on the French Riviera. This is from William-Sonoma’s Casual Outdoor Dining by Georgeanne Brennan with a few revisions from me.

This is an ideal recipe for a dinner party as just about everything except for grilling the fish can be prepared in advance. 

The salad can be served at room temperature, which makes it an excellent candidate for serving outdoors if you like. Add some freshly baked bread and some wine and prepare yourself for the compliments.

4 servings 

1 pound tuna fillets, sliced about ½ inch thick

4 medium boiling or red new potatoes,

½ lb thin green beans

2 cups mixed young lettuces

4 tomatoes

1 small hothouse cucumber

4 hard boiled eggs.

½ c Kalamata olives jarred in olive oil, pitted

1 T capers (optional)

8 anchovies in olive oil (optional)

In advance:

1. Cover eggs with cold water, bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, cook 12 minutes. Remove from pan and run under cold water. Cool.
2. Boil potatoes in salted water approx. 20 minutes until tender.  Cool.
3. Trim green beans. Steam until tender 5–7 minutes. Place under cold running water to arrest the cooking. Drain. Cool.
4.  Prepare dressing. 

Preparation:

1. Start fire. 
2. Slice potatoes in ¼ inch rounds
3. Cut tomatoes in wedges.
4. Slice eggs
5. Thinly slice cucumbers.  If using regular cucumber instead of hothouse, peel first.Divide lettuce among 4 large salad bowls or plates.
6. Sprinkle tuna fillets with salt and pepper. Grill tuna. Cook 2–3 minutes on each side for rare. Ideally, the fish should be pink in the middle. Remember….it will continue to cook once you take it off the grill. If you cook until white in the middle it will be overdone and dry.
7. Meanwhile, arrange vegetables and eggs over greens. I like to keep each vegetable grouped together, not tossed. (See photo.) Place grilled tuna fillet on each plate. Add olives, sprinkle with capers, place 2 anchovies on tuna fillet. 
8. Drizzle with dressing.

Dressing… I like to serve this salad with Ina Garten’s Lemon Vinaigrette

1 ½ Tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ c freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¾ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place all in mini food processor and process until creamy.  Or whisk by hand.

Tip... make extra of this salad dressing...it's great.