SUMMER PASTA

Summer Pasta

          Cold weather has instilled in our mind visions of heavily sauced pasta as essential comfort food. But this versatile food can be equally delightful in summer in either warm or cold presentations.

          My first inkling of that truth came years ago on my first trip to Italy, where I found pasta served as a first course in either lunch or dinner most of the time, regardless of what came afterward. Italians take their pasta very seriously with an incredible variety of shapes, sizes and modes of preparation from every region and community. For anyone  used to thinking primarily of spaghetti, macaroni and lasagna the variety can be mind boggling.

 

          Pasta can range from tiny orzo (rice size) to orecchiette (ears), conchiglie (shells) and farfalle (bow tie) to papparadelle (thick and broad pasta ribbons) and of course lasagna noodles. Some of the names can be very confusing: there are rotini (corkscrew) and rotelle (little wheels), The twisted corkscrew types evolve further, when rotini becomes fusilli with thinner dimensions and tighter screws and becomes fusilli bucati, when the tight screwed fusilli is elongated and coiled like a spring.

          This complexity and my ignorance became first apparent in a “pasta” restaurant some years ago in Milan, just around the corner from the famed opera house, when a waiter put in our hands a menu the size of a bound ledger. My husband and I must have looked stricken as we tried to decipher the pages of offerings of different pastas, each of which could be prepared in a long list of ways featuring regional specialties. Dinner took a long time, but the confusion was significantly eased by the excellent local wine.

          Cooking summer pasta, whether to be served hot or cold is best with medium sized pasta that allows the sauce or dressing to adhere to the cooked pasta. Addition of a green vegetable gives the warm pasta a lighter feel and increases eye appeal.

                             Penne with Ham and Asparagus

          Cook 8 oz. penne in salted boiling water to desired softness ( ~10 minutes) and drain reserving ½ cup of the liquid. In a large pan heat 2 tblsp. grapeseed oil and quickly sauté 2 minced cloves of garlic with 2 chopped Roma tomatoes, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes and 1 tsp. capers until softened. Stir in the reserved pasta liquid, 1 cup deli ham cut in thin strips, 1 cup washed asparagus spears cut in 1 ½ inch pieces and heat through for 3 minutes. Stir in drained hot pasta, transfer to a bowl and toss with ½ cup grated aged Asiago cheese. Serve with additional grated cheese if desired. (Substitute ½ cup of frozen peas for asparagus if desired).

                             Mediterranean Pasta Salad

          Vinaigrette: 6 tblsp. wine vinegar, 3 tblsp. olive oil, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp. celery seed, salt and pepper to taste. Cook 8 oz fusilli or rotelle in salted boiling water to al dente.  Drain pasta and in a large bowl toss with the vinaigrette while hot. Allow to cool. When cool, add diced: ½ red and ½ green peppers, ¼ cup red onion, 1/3 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives, ½ cup crumbled Feta cheese and 4 oz grape tomatoes cut in halves. Toss all ingredients together and chill 2 hours before serving. If you wish for a more colorful effect, toss with a drained and rinsed a can of black beans. Serve garnished with chopped parsley and hard-boiled egg slices.

          The ease of summer pasta preparation is not to be underestimated. The almost infinite variety of pasta is likely to result in many different pasta dishes, each of them with a different and delightful character. And should you wish for further variety, then of course there are Japanese, Chines and Thai noodle dishes. That may be a topic for another column.  

    

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)