Summer makes me lazy. So when it’s too hot to turn the oven on, I love a good and quick pasta for dinner. Sure, there’s a brief period spent in front of the steamy stovetop when the pasta is boiling, but it’s short, and not as much heat as the range’s searing interior. And there’s something about the ingredients of summer that are just absolutely PERFECT for pasta, which make any excess stovetop-induced sweating 1000% worth it. I went with my favorite greens in this recipe, namely a spinach and basil pasta, with some zesty garlic thrown in along with parmesan, lemon, burrata, pistachios, and chili flakes for some heat. You could definitely throw in some fresh halved cherry tomatoes if you want a little summer tomato bite in there too, or keep it simple like I did here. And if you need a protein boost, some cannellini beans or chopped cooked chicken thighs would be tasty, as well. That’s another one of the wonderful things about pasta—it’s very flexible! So do what works for you.
Speaking of flexibility, I’ve been working on going with the flow and trying to relax the past few weeks as the house has still not sold. I find myself standing at the living room window, staring out into the street and waiting for people to pull over and take one of the fliers from the “for sale” sign. Then quickly jumping away from the window on the rare occasion when someone does pull over, which I think makes it seem like the house is A) possibly haunted, or B) the owners (us) are very very desperate—neither of which is a good look. Like many of the things I’ve faced over the past couple years, I’ve done everything that I can and the rest is completely outside of my control, so I need to learn to accept it and not let my worries dominate my mind. Much easier said than done, of course, as my fellow worriers know. But still. I am trying. And that has to count for something.
I’ve also been eating a lot of panna cotta lately. Largely because of the heat, and also because it’s so quick to throw together and keeps so well in the fridge! And if you have guests over, it’s a fun little make-ahead treat to have in some small jars you have laying around. So if you also feel the flavors of Italy calling your name, you can try this pistachio panna cotta or this oldie-but-goodie blood orange panna cotta from the archives. Both go REALLY with the spinach and basil past (speaking from experience over here).
In terms of what pasta to use, I would highly recommend using bucatini for this dish if you can find it. It used to be tricky to find at normal grocery stores, but now it’s becoming more and more readily accessible, and for that I am deeply grateful because it is a Treat with a capital T. It’s basically spaghetti’s thicker, slightly denser cousin, with a small hole in the center that allows all the sauce to get kind of sucked up into the noodle preemptively. It does take a bit longer to cook than most other pasta types, so make sure to read + follow the package directions before you go into spaghetti auto pilot, because it will definitely take longer to cook than your normal noodles. And with that, dear reader, I’ll leave you to this simple + tasty spinach basil pasta situation. I hope you’re having a beautiful summer, and will be in touch again with a tasty bundt cake coming your way! (And fingers crossed good news about the house!!!)
Spinach Basil Pasta with Burrata and Chili
CourseDinner
CuisineItalian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Spinach + Basil Sauce
- 2cupsloosely packed fresh spinach leaves
- 1cuploosely packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2cupfresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 4clovesgarlicroughly chopped
- 1/4cuplemon juicefreshly squeezed
- Finely grated zest from 1 organic lemon
- 3/4teaspoonsalt
- 1/2cupextra virgin olive oil
Bucatini + Toppings
- 13ouncesdry bucatini
- 4ouncesburrata cheeseroughly chopped
- ¼cupchopped pistachiosor your preferred nut
- ½ to 1teaspoonred pepper flakesdepending on heat preference
Instructions
Spinach + Basil Sauce
Add the spinach, basil, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and ¼ cup of the olive oil to a blender or food processor. Blend at low speed until chopped, then increase speed to medium low and add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a thin stream through the small hole in the top of the blender or food processor. Blend until relatively smooth with finely chopped bits of greens, stopping the blending to scrape down the inside with a rubber spatula, if needed. Makes about 1 cup of sauce.
Bucatini + Assembly
Prepare the bucatini in a large pot according to package directions. Towards the end of the cooking time, remove 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water from the pot and pour the water in a small saucepan.
Add the spinach + basil sauce to the small saucepan with the pasta water and whisk to combine. Over medium-low heat, heat it up until hot but not boiling, whisking every couple minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Drain the cooked bucatini and place back in the big pot. Pour the spinach + basil sauce over it, add the chopped burrata (will be wonderfully goopy so scrape all the creamy goo off the cutting board and into the pot), pistachio, and red pepper flakes and toss with two wooden spoons to coat the noodles in the sauce. Enjoy immediately!
