In honor of Independence Day, a recipe that may have been influenced by Thomas Jefferson’s love for many Italian things- he was the first to bring over the maccheroni machine and parmigiano -reggiano cheese from Italy from his European travels .One of the first to plant tomatoes at his gardens in Monticello. So here is a recipe our Founding Father would have loved. It’s summer, so I didn’t think that you would want to labor over making maccheroni by hand, so this recipe calls for store bought spaghetti- but be sure to get 100% durum wheat pasta. makes a great eating ‘al fresco’ pasta dish. This is from my upcoming book The Basic Art of Pasta:
Spaghetti Primavera
1 lb spaghetti
4 red, ripe tomatoes
1 handful freshly chopped basil
1 handful freshly chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiana -reggiano cheese
Cook pasta till al dente. While pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Chop tomatoes , basil, garlic, parsley. Drain pasta and place in serving dish. Place tomato mixture on top. Place olive oil in saute pan to heat or just until oil begins to bubble. Remove from heat. Pour over pasta and cover bowl for 1 minute. Toss and serve with freshly grated parmigiana reggiano cheese.
Happy 4th of July!
The Basic Art of Red, White, and Blue | Spaghetti Primavera for Fourth of July
