Pappardelle with Tomatoes and Basil! Light, fresh and delicious! You can’t go wrong with this simple recipe!
After a summer of swimming lessons, teaching Phoebe how to ride her bike, hanging with friends, flying, traveling, vacationing, visiting with my mother and sister after their surgery, and embracing and accepting my upcoming move to the Midwest, it’s time to sit for a bit, relax and bid a proper farewell to summer.
The summers in Seattle are beautiful and radiant.
They are glorious. I think people move here for the summers. After July 4, (that’s the magical day) the weather is perfect. The days are longer, kids are out of school, there are summer family events and activities everywhere and the Farmer’s Market close to my house is in full swing. I love it.
Even though we were away for pretty much what feels like an eternity; the entire month of August, it was nice to get back home to enjoy a day or two of summer before school started.
And we visited my garden. Our community garden. Here she is when we first planted everything back in May.
The girls loved our daily visits to the garden to water our plants and veggies.
It was pretty awesome because over the course of a few months, they saw this.
And this.
And we were actually eating everything we had planted. The kids were stoked and would ask, “We planted these?!!” as they popped veggies into their mouths. Among the vegetables, their favorite was the sugar snap peas (and the couple mini cucumbers we got) and mine, the tomatoes. And we even planted some carrots. But they are not quite ready yet.
I call this summer in a bowl. The colors are so lovely and vibrant to me. And the flavors are simple and delicious. I whipped this up in under 30 minutes and used all of my lovely cherry tomatoes (just the red ones). The orange ones were purchased from Whole Foods.
A delicious bowl of pasta does not need to be complicated. In fact, with this one, I was really just trying to use up some ingredients I had laying around after I made this panzanella salad. I tried to stay true to simple, good Italian cooking. . and just used good ole garlic, olive oil, tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
So, with that, we will bid farewell to summer. I’m pretty sad that we are leaving my garden plot but this just inspires me to plant something in Madison .. and hey, we have another 6 weeks here in Washington. Hooray! I hope you enjoy.
- 1 package Pappardelle pasta
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 fresh garlic cloves, minced
- cherry tomatoes; cut in half
- kosher salt and pepper
- crushed red pepper flakes (optional for some heat)
- ½ cup - 1 cup crushed canned tomatoes (I used my fave canned crushed tomato sauce; I only add a little to help wet the noodles)
- black olives; cut in half
- fresh basil; torn
- fresh mini mozzarella balls; cut in half
- freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Boil pasta in a big pot of salted water. Cook according to package instructions to al dente. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Using a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. After a minute or so, add the garlic. Cook for about a minute or 2 and then add your tomatoes. You want to cook them until they are about to burst but do not; for about 3-4 minutes. You still want them somewhat firm and not too soft. Season with salt and pepper and the red pepper flakes if using.
- Add in the crushed tomato sauce, olives and the pasta and mix to coat the pasta noodles with the sauce; for about 2 minutes. Lastly, add in the basil and mozzarella balls and gently mix everything up; for about a minute or 2.
- Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and enjoy!
That might just be the trick to get kids to eat their veggies, plant them! I live on this type of pasta dish. Now, if only I had my own tomatoes… I’m SO happy you’re enjoying your last weeks in seattle!
I adore pappardelle and these are the dishes that speak the most to me: simple, delicious, fresh and vibrant. I love that this used the vegetables you and your family planted. What wonderful photos and you’re always going to have these incredible memories. I’m glad it’s inspiring you to plant another garden in Madison – homegrown veggies are the best! Sigh, I’m going to miss this glorious weather because as you know from your past year in the pacific north west, our 8 months of rain are starting up soon. I hope the weather stays beautiful for your last six weeks here (sob). I’m gonna see you soon, girl, I can’t wait!
Awwww…your kids are so adorable. Will they miss Seattle and their garden? I wish they have one here. I can’t agree more, it’s definitely summer in a bowl. Love the colors and pappardelle so much!
Beautiful pictures, beautiful produce and a stunning way to use up those end of summer veg. What I love is that ‘starting over again’ feeling when everything feels exciting and new. I’ve no doubt you will do everything & just make it better!
This is absolutely stunning! I love that nearly everything in it was grown in that garden. Lovely! It’s amazing how it blossomed and grew and so neat that the kids got to eat what they had planted. I have the hardest time gardening. I yearn to have one yet can never seem to make anything grow. But I’m feeling inspired and perhaps next year will by my year.
How incredible are those plants…I’m so envious:)) I miss my in-laws farms. They try to plant tomatoes every time they visit us from Italy and the poor tomatoes never make it once they leave. I could eat this for lunch and then again for dinner. Simple pasta dish that I adore, Alice.