Our tomatoes are almost ready. Almost time for what I call "Pasta Alla Margharita:"

[Redstone]

One of my favorite summertime meals, patterned after the classic "Pizza Alla Margharita."

(Adjust amounts of ingredients to your liking.)

1) Pasta (I prefer tagliatelle, but use whatever you like)
2) Chopped fresh tomatoes (Peel, seed, or drain to your liking. I don't do any of them.)
3) Chopped or crushed garlic.
4) Fresh basil leaves, torn (not cut) to fairly small pieces.
5) Sliced fresh mozzarella (or just rip into little chunks).
6) Thin shavings of Parma Reggiano, or Pecorino Romano, or both. (Do NOT cheap out on the cheese; use the best you can afford.)

Cook the pasta, drain it, and throw it back into the pot to dry over low heat, stirring all the while. When the pasta s dry, pitch the tomatoes, garlic, basil, and mozzarella into the pot, and shut off the heat immediately. Stir everything together quickly (you're NOT looking to cook the sauce) and put portions on serving plates.

Top with the Parm and / or Romano.

That's it. Try it first with NO salt, NO pepper, no NOTHING. You might be surprised at how you don't need salt or spices.

Of course, if you do want to salt or spice it, be my guest. It won't lose that "essence of summer" if you do.

Redstone

[hippywife]

1. Oh you and your

fancy, schmancy Johnny Marzetti! :rofl:

I keed! I keed! Sounds fresh and lovely. Really. :D

[Redstone]

2. Oh, I guess it IS kind of a non-can version of that! And also vaguely like that dreadful

"american chop suey" that my parents used to make, but being New Englanders, they called it "goulash."

The magic is, as you know, that nothing is cooked except for the pasta. That's why I look forward to eathing this every summer.

Redstone

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Have you made it with bocconcini -the little balls of fresh mozzarella?

Less slicing that way.

By the way this old Yankee LOVED "American chop suey" when she was a kid. My mother also made slum gullion.

[yellowdogintexas]

8. MY mother made slum gullion too! It was code for combined more or less

compatible leftovers turned into something like a soup or stew.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Now I have drool on my shirt

A whole new layer of flavor is achieved by using roasted garlic. Yes, it is not a 'fresh' taste as is everything else, but it does a wonderful, nutty sort of layer on the dish.

I love this with cherry tomatoes cut in half.

I usually salt the tomatoes to draw off some of their water and then do the dish. Gotta be careful with the salt, though cuz the parm has more than many people imagine it does.

[Redstone]

4. We actually sautee garlic instead of roasting it. Same result, but much easier to use,

because3 you don't have to scoop the cloves out of the skin.

(We learned this from the day that we felt adventurous, and made Julia Child's 40-cloves-of-garlic mashed potatoes.)

Redstone

[hippywife]

5. That's why I never

salt my wedding soup. It's gonna be topped with parm when served anyway so no way to control how much people are gonna put on it and I've been known to be a little heavy-handed with it myself. :9

[Redstone]

6. I like salt. A lot. But sometimes it's nice to do without. And those clowns on the Food Network,

with their obligatory "pinch of salt" (which is more like a small handful) and "a few grinds of fresh-ground pepper" in absolutely EVERYTHING, get old REAL fast.

Redstone

[yellowdogintexas]

9. I like to make this once a year. Slight difference. I put all the sauce stuff together

and set it on the counter, covered for 2 to 4 hours. The recipe I use has at cup of olive oil in it too; I notice yours has NO olive oil. This makes it easier on the WW Points.

Boil up the pasta, I like linguini

drain the pasta and combine immediately in a huge bowl with the sauce, stir. The hot pasta melts the cheese.

I do put some salt and fresh ground black pepper in the sauce.