Capellini and Cherry Tomato Salad
A versatile Summer salad made with delicate angel hair pasta and cherry tomatoes marinated with garlic, olive oil and basil. This dish feeds a crowd and works well for a garden supper with friends.
Welcome to Notes from my Kitchen - delicious weekly recipes and inspiration to eat seasonally from an English garden.
Last week was the summer solstice, or the longest day of the year with the shortest night. In physical terms this means the earth's axis is tilted at its closest point from the sun: in the northern hemisphere the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Many traditions consider this the peak of the Sun's power a time to honour nature's energy and the fullness of life. With a heat wave in the UK and plenty of sun it felt like a moment to celebrate abundance and renewal, with endless blue skies and rolling fields.
In Kent as we drove towards home we found ourselves surrounded by beautiful fields of poppies; as an Art History graduate the visual effect for me was that of a glorious impressionist painting (Claude Monet’s The Poppy Field near Argenteuil 1873 or Vincent Van Gogh’s Poppy Field 1890). In our garden we picked and ate the strawberries which I think have just a few weeks left. Unlike supermarket strawberries they spoil fast so need to be harvested and eaten, or made into jam. We also have the last of the broad beans to pick and I have been podding extra hauls for our freezer as I love to be able to cook these out of season and they freeze brilliantly.
In the kitchen I am inspired to make food for sharing, I have been planning meals largely centred around salads which provide good leftovers, but also less time spent in the kitchen and more time spent outdoors. When produce is at its best the food should really speak for itself. I made a big family lunch with a Spatchcock Roast Chicken, marinated in wild garlic. A big platter of this week’s recipe a Capellini and Cherry Tomato Salad, as well as a simple Green Bean Salad, with Summer Tomatoes and Basil. Easy, delicious food that is best shared and eaten outdoors.
Recipe of the Week
Capellini and Cherry Tomato Salad
This Summer salad is adapted from Ina Garten’s Summer Garden Pasta recipe. The method of marinating the tomatoes and then mixing them through the cooked pasta is hers, this works beautifully as the hot pasta softens the rawness of the tomatoes and garlic. I’m adding toasted pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes, to add some texture and to better emphasise the tomato flavour.
This is a wonderful dish to make in the Summer months as it feeds a crowd easily and is a lovely accompaniment to other Summer salads or a BBQ. It is also great as left overs; just add more olive oil to loosen the pasta before eating/ serving again.
Ingredients
250g Capellini Angel Hair Pasta (1/2 a standard supermarket packet of 500g)
350g red cherry tomatoes on the vine
350g yellow capella cherry tomatoes on the vine
1/2 cup olive oil
15g fresh basil leaves, julienned
1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
100g Parmesan, finely grated
To serve
50g pine nuts
6-10 sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
10g fresh basil leaves
Method
Prepare the tomatoes to marinate: you want to do this about 1 hour before cooking the dish. To a bowl add the halved cherry tomatoes. I use a mix of yellow and red cherry tomatoes as I like the combination of colours. Pour over the olive oil, julienned basil leaves and 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic, then season well with sea salt and black pepper. Combine well, cover and leave at room temperature to marinate for 1 hour.
Whilst the tomatoes marinate finely grate the Parmesan and set aside. Dry toast the pine nuts for 2 minutes over a medium heat/ or until just golden and toasted, set aside. Finely dice the sun-dried tomatoes, set aside.
In a large pot of boiling water cook the Capellini pasta according to the packet instructions, or until just al dente. As the strands of the pasta are so thin this should take just 3-4 minutes approximately. Once cooked remove and drain; then add to the large bowl of the marinating tomatoes, combine the pasta and tomatoes. Add the finely grated Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts combine again.
To serve place the Capellini and tomato salad on a large platter scatter with fresh basil leaves, a final grating of parmesan, black pepper and dress with a little more extra virgin olive oil.