Pasta with Easy No-Cook Sauce

You know those days when you just don’t feel like cooking, or going through a million steps to get a meal on the table? A.k.a. every day? Or it’s just too hot to cook things for too long? That’s where this recipe comes in—a simple pasta with no-cook sauce.  

You have the amazing summer flavors of fresh tomatoes and basil, the bite of the garlic, and that’s about it. Simple, basic. And super delish.

Add in a tiny bit of cheese and some hot pasta, and you have a winner, and all in the time it takes to boil the pasta.

Put the water on to boil and then cook the pasta according to the directions, making sure to leave it al dente. Save a half cup or cup of the starchy pasta water.

Slice the tiny tomatoes in half length-wise and throw in a giant bowl.

Mince up your fresh garlic and throw it in the bowl too. You may discover that all your fresh garlic has sprouted little green things, in which case you’ll get the pre-minced garlic out of the fridge and use that instead…

Chiffonade your basil. That’s just a fancy word for choppin’ it up into strips.

Throw the basil in the bowl, and add some sea salt, a handful of fresh-grated parmesan, and a few glugs of olive oil. If you do this ahead of time, over with plastic wrap and let the flavors all get to know each other for a while.

When the pasta’s done cooking, reserve some of the water and then drain the pasta. Throw it in with all the other ingredients and toss everything together, adding in the pasta water as needed to help it form a sauce.

This pasta with no-cook sauce was a super easy 15-minute meal, and uses such fresh, classic flavors!  I think I’d actually use a short pasta in the future rather than long…I’m not the biggest fan of eating long pasta, and I think the short pasta with the tomato bites would pair better.

Other crazy easy pasta recipes you’ll love:

• Pasta with Mixed Greens & Goat Cheese
• Giovanna’s Pasta con Pesto
• Pasta with Sausage, Cabbage, & Kale
• Pasta with Roasted Garlic, Spinach, Tomatoes, & Ricotta

Easy Pasta with No-Cook Sauce

• 12 or 16 ounces of dry pasta
• Grape or cherry tomatoes
• A handful or two of fresh basil
• 2 large cloves of fresh garlic (or equivalent)
• At least 1/2 cup of fresh-grated parmesan cheese
• Olive oil
• Fresh-ground salt & pepper

Boil water, add salt, and cook pasta according to instructions, leaving al dente.

Slice all the tomatoes in half, chiffonade the basil, and mince the garlic. Place in a large bowl with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cover with plastic wrap. You can do this ahead of time, too, and let the flavors get to know each other for a while. Right before you add the pasta, throw in a handful of shredded parmesan.

Once the pasta is ready, keep a half cup or so of pasta water back and drain the rest. Toss the pasta with the tomato-basil mixture and mix the pasta water in as needed to make everything stick together and form a creamy sauce.

Original recipe here

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