Creamy Summer Tomato + Dill Pasta

New trend: using long runs to justify the need to indulge in a Friday night pasta.  For a carb loving gal who frequently scrolls through Pinterest for the latest + greatest pasta inspiration, it’s a genius plan.  We had a big run on deck for Saturday morning, so in explaining the weekly meal plan situation to Jordan, I stayed convicted in my stance that Friday night pasta was a necessary carbo-load.  Intended to be a total joke, but in actuality it was exactly what we were doing.  And I have been HOT on experimenting with different pasta dishes this Summer.  I want to use the Summer veggies, and find something the veers a little of course from the typical red sauce or rich alredo. Those are usually my two speeds. This week we found some inspiration, and this Creamy Summer Tomato + Dill Pasta was the pasta of the week, and I loved every damn bite.  Baby heirloom tomatoes roasted + blistered with big chunks of garlic, and then cooked with cream, dill, and capers.  It is a pasta that translates to Summer spaghetti heaven.  I did my usual trick of loading the bottom of the bowl with arugula (because if you haven’t heard - arugula tastes great with everything), and then loaded big twirls of noodles and sauce right on top.  Pasta perfection!

 
 

You had me at dill

My favorite Summer herb - dill. Fresh, big bunches of dill (& not the shit that comes in small plastic cases). It’s actually the best. I found a similar recipe to that pasta I ended up making, and it was the addition of dill + capers that got the wheels turning.  Fast forward to the first bites of our variation - this was one of the best Summer pastas we’ve ever made.  In comparison to the inspo recipe, I swapped sun dried tomatoes for cherry tomatoes, dried herbs for heaps of the fresh stuff, and let tomato juices + white wine cook together to make a delicious little sauce.  It was fresh + light, and had a serious Summer vibe.  

The capers - a little lemon-y, tangy bite that, with the herbs, brightened everything up.

Handle the tomatoes with care

I did go the extra mile of roasting the tomatoes + garlic.  Not a necessary step - you could absolutely just cook it all in a saucepan.  Personal preference  - I just like the little flavor of roasted garlic and tomatoes.  The tomatoes won’t breakdown all the way, and that will fully happen as the sauce cooks.  Everything just gets a bit soft in the oven, and the cook time in the pan is pretty quick.

Rule: Must twirl

Last little note - gotta use a pasta you can twirl.  In our case, bucatini, but linguine or spaghetti or anything similar would work.  The sauce sticks to long noodles, and all the flavor just perfectly gets absorbed. Forkfuls of twirled up pasta in the tomato sauce with a bite fresh arugula is the perfect bite. Bite after bite after bite - it’s perfect.

 
 

As a girl who wholeheartedly looks forward to a big bowl of sauced up noodles, this is a pasta dish I would make over and over. For just me on a night where I’m watching a chick flick on the couch or if I’m having the girls over for another nonna night. It’s too good to only have once.

For the pasta

  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes

  • 5 garlic cloves, smashed

  • EVOO

  • 1 onion, diced

  • Salt + pepper

  • pinch of red pepper

  • 1/2 c. White wine

  • 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped

  • 1/4 c. fresh dill (generous 1/4 cup)

  • 1/4 c. fresh parsley 

  • 1/2 c. Half and half

  • Dried bucatini (enough for 2 people)

  • 1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan

  • Fresh arugula

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the tomatoes + garlic in a ramekin, and generously drizzle with EVOO. Roast for 30-35 minutes, and keep in the oven until they take on a lightly charred color.

Place a separate skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoon of EVOO. Simultaneously place a pot of salted water over medium heat. Add the onion to the skillet, stir occasionally, and cook until translucent. About 10-12 minutes. Add in the tomatoes + garlic, season with a pinch of salt + pepper, and cook another 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly to not burn the tomatoes. Add in the wine, and let it simmer until reduced by about 75%. Turn the heat to low, add in the red pepper, capers and fresh herbs. Continue to cook uncovered at low heat for another 5 minutes, and then stir in the cream. Continue to keep over low heat

Move to cooking the pasta to al dente.

Once the pasta is cooked, add in a 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the sauce. Increase the heat to medium low, and add in the cooked noodles. Toss, and stir in just over half of the cheese. Stir to coat the noodles with the cheese, cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and let the pasta cook for another 5-7 minutes.

Plate the pasta by placing a bit of the arugula in the bottom of the bowls. Twirl the pasta noodles on top and scoop a bit of the sauce up as well. Finish the pasta with the remaining cheese and another pinch of red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Lesley ZehnerComment