Very Simple Summer Pasta

[nybirder]

What I like about this is how easy it would be to make this for just one person. I'm thinking that using some Barilla Ready Pasta--like rotini--would even eliminate boiling water on a hot day! I'm still debating whether to microwave the Ready Pasta first--heating it in the sauce may be enough. This is similar to an uncooked tomato sauce I make that uses chunked, very ripe tomatoes instead.
Grated Tomato Pasta
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024307-grated-tomato-pasta

This recipe gently warms the fruit, so they keep their acidity and succulence. Since the tomato hasn’t had the liquid cooked out, it doesn’t cling to the spaghetti the way a cooked pomodoro would, but this keeps the dish light and bright, and makes it perfect for a hot summer day. Be sure to serve with plenty of bread to sop up the cheesy sauce that is left behind at the bottom of the bowl. If juicy, ripe tomatoes aren’t around, swap out for cherry tomatoes and blend them instead of grating to get a similar effect.

1 serving
Salt
3 ounces spaghetti or 1 pkg. Barilla Ready Pasta
1 large ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
1/8 cup basil leaves, plus more for garnish

4 servings
Salt
12 ounces spaghetti (about ¾ box)
4 large ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
½ cup basil leaves, plus more for garnish

Over high heat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to the water and boil 1 minute less than package instructions, or until the spaghetti has a very tiny dry core when cut in half. (Or microwave Ready Pasta--perhaps not since it is going to be heated in sauce.)

While the pasta cooks, trim the bottom of the tomatoes and core them. Using the large holes on the box grater, grate the trimmed side of the tomato into a large bowl until nothing but skins remain. Discard skins.

Transfer the pasta to a colander to drain, then return the pot to medium-high heat. If using Ready Pasta, use a saucepan on the stovetop. Add the olive oil and garlic and cook, frequently stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the grated tomatoes and season with a large pinch of salt. As soon as the mixture comes up to a simmer (about 3 minutes), turn off the heat and add the spaghetti (or warm Ready Pasta) and half the Parmesan. Stir vigorously until the spaghetti is coated in sauce and the Parmesan has melted.

Add the rest of the Parmesan and the basil leaves and stir vigorously until the rest of the cheese has melted. Taste the sauce and adjust with more salt as needed.

Divide among four bowls, spooning over any tomato liquid left in the pot. Top with more Parmesan and basil and serve immediately.

COOKING NOTES FROM READERS
Long time ago, I discovered that if you dice tomatoes, ripe fresh tomatoes, put them in a container, freeze, defrost, press-strain (save the tomato water, which is good for other purposes), add basil and other seasoning, EVO or butter, cook briefly, then you get a fresh tomato sauce that clings better without overcooking. You can seriously reduce the tomato water with garlic and oil and add that to sauce.

Grating tomatoes is actually very easy. Cut in half at the equator and then put the cut side against the grater. The skin of the tomato will protect your fingers!

Similar to how I make pasta sauce from the garden. I use a second pan, starting the sauce in a wide frying pan while the pasta is cooking. As soon as the garlic is fragrant, add diced onion (white, red, yellow, sweet - any will do). Once most of the onion has turned translucent, grate the tomatoes straight into the pan. When the onions are fully cooked, add ribbons of basil. Turn off the heat, mix, add cheese, serve. As Kate notes, very versatile and accepts other summer veggies beautifully.

Go gently with the grater:) we opted to add other summer vegetables and switched to rigatoni to match the chunkier sauce. Great for a one pot meal.

[helen]

Birdy, I was wandering through Pinterest this morning and pinned your exact recipe! I think grated tomatoes are a great idea for lots of thing!

[annrms]

Interesting! Sounds really good. Wondering...could you use a food mill with largest plate?

[nybirder]

Sure! Same idea, really. In fact, that's how my mother prepared raw tomatoes for canning sauce rather than peeling them.

Birdy

[helen]

My grandma used a food mill, too! Every once in awhile she'd let us use the handle.

[nybirder]

Mom had never used one before. She found it in a hardware store and decided to try it after nearly dying of the heat blanching tomatoes to get off the skin. It took her a while to figure out that every once in a while you had to reverse it a few times to open up the holes. No internet in those days to get info!

[lochlan2000]

Your approach to preparing pasta for summer sounds really practical, especially with the Barilla Ready Pasta option to skip boiling water. Grating tomatoes to preserve their freshness is a smart move for a lighter sauce. Adding basil and Parmesan at the end brings out the flavors well. By the way, have you tried making paccheri pasta with summer vegetables? It's another delightful recipe that captures the vibrant flavors of fresh squash, zucchini, and sweet heirloom cherry tomatoes. It might be a great addition to your summer pasta repertoire.

[nybirder]

Welcome to the group! I'd almost forgotten about posting this last year. I've seen several videos from Milk Street radio and other cooking sources that are using graders with tomatoes for a fresh sauce.

Birdy