Summer Pastas

I’m a big pasta lover and so are my children. Pasta is easy to make, delicious, and you can add whatever you want to make it a healthy dish. Two most widely used pasta sauce are Tomato and Alfredo but you can get tired of them even when you change the ingredients often. So I’ll write about different types of noodles and sunny sauces that you won’t get sick of. These recipes are from Wall Street Journal.


Pasta: Pici

Sauce: Summer Squash Blossoms, Pecorino

Heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange 1 pound Roma tomatoes, halved, on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 2-3 hours and reserve.
Boil a large pot of salted water.

Slice 2-3 medium summer squash and place a large sauté pan over medium heat and coat with olive oil. Add 1 clove garlic, brown gently and discard. Add squash and sauté until golden.

Add reserved oven-roasted tomatoes to the sauté pan and let them break down.

Simmer for 2 minutes, add a big handful whole or hand-torn squash blossoms, simmer 2 minutes and season to taste.

Cook 1 pound pici in boiling water and drain, reserving a little of the water. Add pici to sauté pan and cook 1 minute more on high heat; add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.
Top with grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil.

Pasta: Cavatelli
Sauce: Lobster, Tomato, Pea Leaves and Lovage

 Bring salted water in each of one medium and one large pot.

Core 2 large tomatoes and, with the tip of a knife, make an X mark in the skin at the base of each.

Drop the tomatoes into the medium pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove and transfer to a bowl of ice water.

Peel off the tomato skins and roughly chop the tomatoes.

Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil, add 1 clove garlic, sliced very thinly, and slowly increase the heat. Just before the garlic starts to brown, add the tomatoes and their liquid. Cook for 2 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Add 1 pound fresh cavatelli to the large pot of boiling water and cook for a few ; drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water, then add the pasta to the pan with the tomatoes.

Cook pasta with the tomatoes for 3 minutes, adding a splash of pasta water and olive oil if it gets dry.

Add 6 ounces roughly-chopped cooked lobster, 1 teaspoon lovage, cut into thin ribbons, and ¼ cup pea tendrils

Pasta: Trofie

Sauce: Cranberry Beans, Ricotta Salata and Walnuts

Shell 1½ pounds fresh cranberry beans.

Boil a large pot of salted water. Coat another pot with olive oil and add 3 cloves peeled garlic and the shelled beans.

Season with sea salt, crushed white pepper and pinch of dried chili flakes.

Sauté gently for 15-30 minutes, adding a few spoonfuls of water to keep the beans wet.

Meanwhile, add the trofie to the boiling water and cook until al dente.

Drain, reserving a cup of pasta water.

Add pasta directly to the bean pot, along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss.

GRate a generous amount of ricotta salata over and garnish with a handful of crushed walnuts and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

I've only shared three but you can get more summer pasta recipes at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904007304576496150642449030.html