Wednesday, August 01, 2007

A Taste of Summer

Here’s a recipe that captures the essence of fresh summer produce. And, it’s just about as easy as putting water to boil.

Put a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil, rough chop ½ medium red onion and ½ sweet bell pepper. In a blender or food processor, pulse onion, pepper and a generous handful of cherry or grape tomatoes along with a splash of good olive oil until fluid, but still chunky.

Prick three or four medium tomatoes with a fork in several places and drop in boiling water for 45 seconds or so. Remove and run under cold water. Peel, core and rough-chop tomatoes. Combine pureed veggies and chopped tomatoes.

Cook 1 lb. dry pasta (I like bowtie or penne for this dish). Toss hot, drained pasta with veggie mix. Add a generous amount of chopped fresh basil or the herb(s) of your choosing, more olive oil, if desired, and salt and pepper to taste.

I like to serve this over some greens with grated parmesan and a sprinkle of really great vinegar on top. You can dress it up in any number of ways.

This evening, I served this dish with Omaka Springs Estates Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2004. It’s a wonderful New Zealand SB with flavors of grapefruit, pineapple and bell pepper, framed with zingy acidity – a perfect match for the fresh flavors of the pasta.

If that ain't summer, I don't know what is.

4 comments:

winedeb said...

Sounds extremely summer to me and I was just "asking around" if anyone had a good recipe for all of the fresh tomatoes that are covering most of my kitchen counters right now. I will be trying this one! And Oh! A perfect wine to serve with your pasta! The NZ SB's are on the top of my list right now - Try a Sherwood Estate if you can find. I just did a post on it and it is an inexpensive delightful wine for summer and pasta!

Unknown said...

Hope you like it, Deb. We've been loving it this summer. I can't get enough of fresh tomatoes, so I'll garnish it with extra chunks of tomato.

I'll keep an eye out for the Sherwood.

Dr. Debs said...

Sauvignon blanc is my favorite wine with fresh tomatoes, too. People think tomato and they think red, but I always go for the white stuff when there is a fresh tomato involved. Thanks for the great recipe, which will surely end up on my table along with the crabcakes and the mac and cheese!

Unknown said...

Thanks, Deb. I agree about SB with fresh tomatoes. It's a natural match. Hope you like the pasta.

 
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