Quick & Easy: Summer Garden Pasta

Just the right light dish for a warm day!  Now don't despair when it says Inactive Prep Time is 4 hrs.  Since I was trying to decide what to fix this evening, I cut the inactive prep time to about 20 minutes (yes, it was only as long as it took for the water to boil and cook the pasta).  I'm sure the flavors would meld together nicely after 4 hours, but it was still a hit this evening!

Serves - 6
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Preparation Time: 4 hr
Cook Time: 5 minutes

4 pints cherry tomatoes, halved (used grape tomatoes)
good olive oil
2 Tblspn minced garlic (6 cloves)
18 large basil leaves, julienned, plus extra for serving
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pound dried angel hair pasta
1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (used fresh grated Romano)

1.  Combine the cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, red pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt, and the pepper in a large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature for about 4 hours.

2.  Just before you're ready to serve, bring a large pot of water with a splash of olive oil and 2 Tblspn salt to a boil and add the pasta.  Cook al dente according to the directions on the package (be careful - it only takes 2 to 3 minutes!).  Drain the pasta well and add to the bowl with the cherry tomatoes.  Add the cheese and some extra fresh basil leaves and toss well.  Serve in big bowls with extra cheese on each serving.

Note: though total carbs for Dreamfields Pasta is 41g, after you subtract the Dietary Fiber & protected (non-digestible carbs), the digestible carbs is only 5g.










Source: 2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home

Review/Suggestions:

• Though cherry tomatoes are sweeter, I like the firmness of grape tomatoes when cooking
• The romano cheese definitely added a nice change in flavor
• Because it had been so warm in the house due to bread baking earlier in the day, I really wanted a nice cool dish.  So by only letting the tomato mixture sit out for a shorter period of time, the mixture was still cool.  I also rinsed the pasta with cool water.  The taste - cool, light and refreshing.