Fresh Summer Pasta
Aug. 20th, 2010 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraa...well, fresh except for the roasted red peppers. And no cooking required except for the pasta itself.
Vegetarian; vegan if you leave off the cheese.
For two:
1 pt cherry tomatoes
2 green onions
roasted red peppers, approx. equivalent of 2 bell peppers' worth (jarred are fine)
a couple of big handfuls of fresh, leafy herbs, any kind you like (I used a mixture of basil and parsley)
spicy pickled peppers (see note), optional and to taste
salt
pepper
1/2 lb pasta of your choice (chunky shapes work way better than noodles, but otherwise it doesn't matter)
balsamic vinegar, optional and to taste
hard, salty cheese like parmesan, feta or myzithra, optional and to taste
(On spicy pickled peppers: I used Mama Lil's Kick Butt Peppers, which are pickled, oil-packed Hungarian goathorn peppers. They look[???] like a regional thing, but any kind of pickled-y spicy pepper would work. Pickled peperoncinis or pickled jalapenos would work fine, for instance.)
Halve the cherry tomatoes and thinly slice the green onions. Cut up the roasted red peppers. Chop the herbs pretty finely. Chop up the spicy peppers, if you're using them. (If you're using not very many, you'll want to chop them more finely to distribute them more evenly.)
Dump all the above in a bowl, salt and pepper (I use a few good pinches of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper), and let sit while you cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta, and pull it off a minute or two before it's cooked to your liking (it's going to sit a few minutes to absorb flavor, and it'll soften more as it does). Drain, reserving about half a cup of the pasta cooking water.
The vegetables will probably have released some juice into the bottom of the bowl. Taste it. If you think it could stand to be a bit more tart, add balsamic vinegar. You can also adjust salt and pepper at this point.
Add the reserved pasta water to the vegetables, then stir in the pasta. Let sit about five minutes, so that the pasta can finish cooking and absorb flavors. Stir well and serve, topping with grated or crumbled cheese if desired.
I imagine this would also be good at room temperature or chilled. You could also double everything but the pasta to make something a little more like 'vegetables with pasta' than 'pasta with vegetables.'
Vegetarian; vegan if you leave off the cheese.
For two:
1 pt cherry tomatoes
2 green onions
roasted red peppers, approx. equivalent of 2 bell peppers' worth (jarred are fine)
a couple of big handfuls of fresh, leafy herbs, any kind you like (I used a mixture of basil and parsley)
spicy pickled peppers (see note), optional and to taste
salt
pepper
1/2 lb pasta of your choice (chunky shapes work way better than noodles, but otherwise it doesn't matter)
balsamic vinegar, optional and to taste
hard, salty cheese like parmesan, feta or myzithra, optional and to taste
(On spicy pickled peppers: I used Mama Lil's Kick Butt Peppers, which are pickled, oil-packed Hungarian goathorn peppers. They look[???] like a regional thing, but any kind of pickled-y spicy pepper would work. Pickled peperoncinis or pickled jalapenos would work fine, for instance.)
Halve the cherry tomatoes and thinly slice the green onions. Cut up the roasted red peppers. Chop the herbs pretty finely. Chop up the spicy peppers, if you're using them. (If you're using not very many, you'll want to chop them more finely to distribute them more evenly.)
Dump all the above in a bowl, salt and pepper (I use a few good pinches of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper), and let sit while you cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta, and pull it off a minute or two before it's cooked to your liking (it's going to sit a few minutes to absorb flavor, and it'll soften more as it does). Drain, reserving about half a cup of the pasta cooking water.
The vegetables will probably have released some juice into the bottom of the bowl. Taste it. If you think it could stand to be a bit more tart, add balsamic vinegar. You can also adjust salt and pepper at this point.
Add the reserved pasta water to the vegetables, then stir in the pasta. Let sit about five minutes, so that the pasta can finish cooking and absorb flavors. Stir well and serve, topping with grated or crumbled cheese if desired.
I imagine this would also be good at room temperature or chilled. You could also double everything but the pasta to make something a little more like 'vegetables with pasta' than 'pasta with vegetables.'