Pasta alla Checca (Angel Hair Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce)

• June 16, 2011  |
• by Kirstin Uhrenholdt

What do you do when unexpected guests turn up at your door? Here’s dinner for a crowd in a flash…

Schools out for summer! Oh joy! My kitchen fills with effervescent teens, the air is humming with happiness, freedom and the anticipation of a summer that will last forever. And they are hungry! I have cooked dinner for three, now there are 5… no wait, the door bell just rang… 7 extra girls for dinner. Pasta alla Checca pantry dinner to the rescue!

I start a big pot of water, salted like the sea, boiling on the stove. Chop sweet heirloom tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Toss them with 2 sliced garlic cloves. Then I add a few tablespoons of a good olive oil, and a nice drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Leaves of basil are torn and folded in, a sprinkling of salt until the sauce tastes tangy, tasty and perfect.

Two pounds of angel hair pasta spend 3 minutes in the boiling water, then get tossed with the tomatoes.

The pasta is beautiful, the summer’s first tomatoes are sweet, the vinegar tart. If I had Mozzarella I would add it too, but I don’t, so I shower the dish with Parmesan cheese, then I put out a big mixed green salad and call out, “Diiiiiner!”