PASTA WITH SALSA CRUDA & BURRATA

It’s summertime – and I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot outside, I don’t feel like making my 5-hour Bolognese sauce (although it’s really good, it doesn’t exactly scream “Easy Summer Dinner”!) In today’s post, I’m going to make the opposite of Bolognese – it’s still a pasta dish, but you can make it in half an hour! And, by the way, you only need a few ingredients. Pasta With Salsa Cruda & Burrata is my pasta riff on the classic Caprese Tomato Salad, made with the freshest heirloom tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, olive oil, pasta and burrata cheese.

FRESH FROM THE MARKET (OR YOUR GARDEN)

It’s no secret that I love to garden. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I head out to my little garden and pick something to cook with. My former kitchen garden in Saratoga Springs, NY was featured in Country Gardens magazine a few years ago, photographed by the very talented Andre Baranowski. That little garden provided me with tomatoes, peppers, greens and herbs all throughout the growing season.

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Below is my current herb garden, with very happy basil plants (both ‘Dark Opal’ and classic ‘Genovese’ varieties). Herbs are very easy to grow in a sunny spot – and even in containers. I’ve planted plenty of herbs in my new garden, which I highly recommend (herbs can be pricey, and my philosophy is this: if you’re growing them, you’ll use them in your cooking!)

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I also like to support my local farmer’s market, where I can pick up everything from fresh eggs to heirloom tomatoes.

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Now, onto the recipe (and I’ll also walk you through each step in the post).

INGREDIENTS

As with most homemade dishes that don’t have many ingredients, the quality of each ingredient is very important.

PASTA SHAPES

For this recipe, I like to use a short pasta (versus a long pasta like spaghetti or tagliatelle). The pasta shape is important because you want the tomato sauce, which is chunky, to get into the grooves and crannies of the pasta. You can find fun pasta shapes at stores like HomeGoods or Tuesday Morning (yes, they have a food section!) Penne, orecchiette (‘little ears’), trottole, campanelle and farfalle are all good choices for this sauce.

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For the finished recipe shown here, I went with the trottole pasta. It seems like a technicality, but you really want to use an imported pasta (from Italy, certo). And look for the term “bronze-cut”. One of my photographer friends, Dave McCaughan, who I’ve worked with on several food photo shoots, is well-versed about the “technical” aspects of ingredients and cooking. He’s the one who explained to me why bronze-cut pasta is desirable. In simple terms, the pasta is extruded through bronze dies (versus Teflon), which makes the pasta a little coarser and more porous—and, thus, a better surface for sauces to cling to.

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THE SUPERSTAR: HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

I’m probably stating the obvious, but the tomatoes need to be very fresh. Also, don’t refrigerate your tomatoes, as it alters the flavor and texture.

My recipe calls for 4 large heirloom tomatoes, but if the tomatoes are various sizes, you’ll need about 6-7 medium sized tomatoes. I like to use a mix of colors – yellow, red, green, purple and orange. Some favorite varieties of heirloom tomatoes that I like are ‘Brandywine’ (one of the most popular), ‘Green Zebra’, ‘German Pink’ and ‘Black Krim’ (I’m growing that variety in my garden this year).

WHAT EXACTLY IS ‘SALSA CRUDA’?

This recipe is technically for ‘Salsa Cruda di Pomodoro’ with Burrata Cheese, but that title was a little long. Salsa Cruda di Pomodoro translates in Italian to “Raw Tomato Sauce”. Cruda means “raw” and Pomodoro means “tomato”.

Making the Salsa Cruda is easy. I cut the tomatoes in half with a serrated knife (I own this one), then scoop out the excess seeds and pulp with a spoon and discard. Next, the tomatoes are chopped into roughly 1/2-inch pieces.

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GARLIC (BUT NOT TOO MUCH)

The garlic in this dish is meant to be an enhancement – not a hit-you-over-the-head garlic flavor bully (as some Italian-American dishes can do). A couple of secrets to not having the garlic overpower the sauce is that I first slice the garlic cloves very thin.

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EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

A word about olive oil: You don’t need to spend a fortune, but a good extra virgin olive oil (preferably from Italy) makes a difference in this recipe. I’ve included links to a couple of favorites in the shopping gallery at the end of the post.

You want to slowly “steep” the sliced garlic in extra virgin olive oil for about 6 minutes over very low heat (my favorite mini French copper saucepan comes in handy for this kitchen task). The goal here isn’t to brown the garlic but to slowly infuse the olive oil with the garlic. The key is VERY LOW heat – and don’t walk away, either. It’s done when the garlic is a light golden color (and it also smells heavenly!)

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MARRYING THE TOMATOES + GARLIC OIL

After the oil is infused, you can either remove the garlic pieces and toss them (they’ve done their job) or you can leave them in the oil. Remember, if you bite into a piece of the garlic, it won’t have that raw, bitter taste – it will be buttery and nutty. Because of that, I like to leave the garlic in the oil and combine it in the pasta bowl with the chopped tomatoes. The tomatoes will kind of “marinate” in the oil, making for a very flavorful finished sauce.

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“BUTTA LA PASTA!”

“Butta La Pasta” is an Italian saying that we use around our house when it’s time for dinner. It means “Put the pasta in the boiling water, I’m almost home!” So, after you’ve made the Salsa Cruda, it’s “Butta La Pasta” time.

Before we make the pasta, let’s talk about salt. Specifically, salting your pasta water. I use two kinds of salt in my cooking – kosher salt to season food while cooking (including the pasta water) and finishing salt (or fleur de sel), which is a flaky salt I add at the end of a dish (or to the tomato mixture with the olive oil – before adding the pasta). I never use iodized salt – it’s too grainy and contains additives. I like a salt that I can feel between my fingers. When salting the pasta water, remember that you’re flavoring the pasta, which is a little bland. For a pound of pasta, I add about 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt when the water starts to boil.

All you do is cook the pasta according to the package directions and remove with a stainless spider strainer and slowly incorporate the pasta into the tomato mixture.

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MEET BURRATA CHEESE

If you haven’t tried burrata cheese, now’s the time! It’s pretty easy to find in gourmet and Italian markets, as well as Whole Foods. So what is burrata? It’s made from the stretched curd from mozzarella, but the inside is a soft and creamy filling (similar to ricotta). Mozzarella has a more delicate taste and a more elastic texture, and burrata is softer and more flavorful. If you can’t find burrata, you could substitute dollops of ricotta or bufalo di mozzarella. Just don’t use the pre-shredded cheeses. Again, fewer ingredients means all the ingredients need to be the best.

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FRESH BASIL

Freshly harvested basil is alway the best for this recipe (it’s summertime, so if you’re not growing basil, you can easily find it at the farmer’s market). Also, I don’t chop fresh basil, but simply tear it into pieces when adding to the pasta and tomato mixture.

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TO FINISH THE DISH

After the tomatoes and pasta are combined, you simple add the pieces of burrata cheese and the torn basil leaves. And it wouldn’t be a pasta dish without finishing it off with a grating of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (again, avoid the pre-grated Parmesan cheese. And don’t even think about using the stuff in the green can!)

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OF COURSE, THERE’S WINE!

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For a wine pairing, I like a lean, crisp, vibrantly acidic white wine that pairs well with the tomato’s acidity. You’ll want to steer away from low acid or oaky wines such as Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are good choices. And if you want to be a little adventurous with your wine choice, seek out Verdicchio, Falanghina or Gavi varietals.

KITCHEN TOOLS + INGREDIENTS

I’ve curated a few must-haves for making my Pasta with Salsa Cruda and Burrata – everything from my favorite salts to pasta pots and bowls.

CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW FOR PRODUCT LINKS:

MANGIA E BEVE (EAT + DRINK)!

I hope this post inspires you to Make Your Every Day More Beautiful® with an easy summertime dinner featuring bounties from the garden and farmer’s market. Arrivederci and Mangia e beve!