Late Summer Pasta with a Raw Heirloom Tomato Sauce

There’s something so good about late summer produce. A simple stroll down the stands of a Farmers’ Market is a feast for every shopper’s senses. Rows of colorful fruits and vegetables are arranged along the tables, showcasing a variety of options that will inevitably start to fade in the fall. Perhaps most notably, baskets upon baskets of heirloom tomatoes are displayed on the stands, catching the shoppers’ eyes like light attracts moths, and eventually forcing them to give in and purchase a diverse selection.

Of all shapes and sizes, of all weights and heights, they are sunripe and flavorful like only summer produce can be. Bursting with colors from yellow to red, brown to green, or orange to purple… heirloom tomatoes truly express their full potential around that time of the year. Naturally, my fondness for these fruits (and they are fruits) takes on a new intensity late into the season, when each bite of their flesh bursts with subtle hints of sugar, rays of sunlight, and summer warmth.

This pasta recipe came along after my usual Saturday morning stroll to the nearest Farmers’ Market. I wanted to showcase all of these delicious summer flavors in a dish. Arguably, pasta is a particularly great neutral base on which a sauce can really shine. Effectively, this sauce is like a love letter to heirloom tomatoes. The stars of this dish, in their purest and most simple form, are only lightly dressed in olive oil and fresh basil to reveal their full flavors. It’s novelty and excitement at each bite. It’s what summer does best in a plate. Bon appétit!

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Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 3 oz. pasta (I chose Fusilli)
• a big handful of heirloom tomatoes
• 4-5 basil leaves
• a good glug of olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• fresh parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring salted water to a boil.
2. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Dice the tomatoes in tiny pieces, roll the basil leaves and slice them as thinly as possible.
3. Cook the pasta.
4. In a small bowl, add the tomatoes, olive oil, half of the basil, sea salt and black pepper. Mix well and let it infuse while the pasta cooks.
5. Drain the pasta and reserve about 1/2 tbsp of cooking water. Put it back in the pot and toss it with the raw tomato sauce, cooking water and some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
6. Garnish with the rest of the basil and some more cheese, and serve immediately. Enjoy!

“Pâtes Estivales, Sauce Crue aux Tomates Oubliées”

Temps total: 15 minutes

Ingrédients: 

• 90g de pâtes (j’ai choisi des Fusilli)
• une grosse poignée de tomates cerises oubliées
• 4-5 feuilles de basilic
• un bon filet d’huile d’olive
• sel de mer et poivre noir fraichement moulu
• un morceau de Parmesan

Étapes:

1. Faites bouillir de l’eau salée dans une grande casserole.
2. Pendant ce temps, préparez la sauce. Découpez les tomates en tout petits cubes, et ciselez le basilic en fines lamelles.
3. Faites cuire les pâtes.
4. Dans un petit bol, ajoutez les tomates, la moitié du basilic, l’huile d’olive, le sel et le poivre. Mélangez bien le tout et laissez infuser pendant que les pâtes cuisent.
5. Égouttez les pâtes en réservant 1/2 c.s d’eau de cuisson. Remettez-les dans la casserole et mélangez avec les tomates et leur jus, l’eau de cuisson et du parmesan fraichement râpé.
6. Décorez les assiettes avec le reste du basilic et un peu plus de parmesan. Dégustez de suite et bon appétit!