Hot summer days call for a fresh approach to pasta, treating it like delicate salad leaves.
Culinary expert Jeanne Caròla Francesconi offers several raw tomato sauce recipes in her book on Neapolitan cuisine, perfect for warm weather.
One standout method is vermicelli all'insalata, meaning "like a salad."
This technique emphasizes tossing pasta gently yet thoroughly with generous, well-cut condiments and dressings, rather than serving a traditional heavy pasta salad.
A featured variation combines two techniques: warm softened courgettes and a room-temperature raw tomato salsa.
Courgettes are softened in olive oil with spring onions, while a juicy mixture of tomato, garlic, and herbs provides fresh contrast.
Tomatoes benefit from resting for about 20 minutes to release their natural juices.
Chef Valentina Harris calls this style her sugo di vacanza, or holiday sauce, where diced tomatoes macerate in oil and herbs for hours while everyone enjoys the beach.
A diverse selection of tomatoes yields the best results, including sweet cherry tomatoes, fleshy varieties, and firmer green tomatoes for added texture.
Smaller dark green, pale green, or yellow courgettes are preferred for their natural sweetness and juiciness.
Both long and short pasta shapes work well.
Thin strands like spaghetti, spaghettini, capelli d'angelo, and maccheroncini di campofilone are suitable, as are textured shapes like farfalle, radiatori, fusilli, orecchiette, or cavatelli.
Ingredients for Four Servings
The dish requires two large courgettes, three to four spring onions, 400g of ripe tomatoes, and seven tablespoons of olive oil.
Also prepare one small handful of ripped basil leaves, a pinch of dried oregano, half a finely minced small garlic clove, and 450g of pasta.
Cooking Instructions
Begin by bringing a large pan of water to a boil for the pasta. Top and tail the courgettes, then grate them or slice into slender batons.
If grated, wrap in a tea towel and squeeze firmly to remove excess water before trimming and finely slicing the spring onions.
Finely dice the tomatoes, capturing all juices, and place in a bowl with three tablespoons of olive oil, ripped basil, dried oregano, garlic, and salt.
Mix thoroughly and let sit while cooking the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions.
Warm four tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan or wok, then sauté the spring onions until soft.
Add the courgettes and fry gently for five minutes, incorporating starchy pasta cooking water to ensure they soften rather than brown.
Transfer the cooked pasta directly into the courgette pan, tossing vigorously to coat and emulsify.
Stir in the diced tomato mixture before tipping the complete dish onto a large platter, adding extra basil leaves for color.
