The Light and Tasty column is about to head off for a well-deserved vacation. Today we say goodbye (but only for a short time, we’ll meet again in September) with a selection of summer recipes. The recipe I’ve chosen is a first course, and my colleagues will forgive me if this time I’m not entirely faithful to today’s theme (which is ‘cold dishes’). This whole wheat calamarata with two kinds of tomatoes was not originally intended as a cold dish, but the events of these days led me to this recipe, and now it’s too late to replace it.
However, it’s a recipe that you can’t miss in summer, that doesn’t require much time in front of the stove, just the pasta cooking time, and it can easily be eaten, if not exactly cold, at room temperature, perhaps with the addition of some small mozzarella balls, to give that touch of freshness and turn the dish into a single summer dish. 🙂
Why did I choose this recipe? Because I had so many thoughts in my head (summer, family, the need for rest, vacations…) and among the photos in my archive these made me say ‘I’ll write this!’ because they represented my thoughts at the moment, also thanks to the themed placemat. 😊🐟🐠🐡
Calamarata is a pasta shape that gives me a strong sense of summer, I first ate it during a holiday and since then I can’t help but associate it with summer vacations every time. Usually, it’s also the type of pasta I like to bring home as a souvenir, one of the many gastronomic souvenirs I enjoy buying when I travel (or I should say traveled… but let’s skip this detail! 😅).
It’s my thing, I really enjoy gastronomic tourism, both during and after the trip. I mean, I like it while I’m away, because for me, raiding local grocery stores is a real treat, and I like it after when I get home and cook what I bought, something that sometimes happens many months later, when the products are long-lasting like pasta. And that’s usually when a little nostalgia kicks in, and those phrases are said at the table like ‘do you remember when we went there’ and ‘do you remember when we ate there’. Good things.
Hey, but you know what? I’m getting hungry! 😀 Are you ready to read the recipe?
Before I leave you, as usual in recent recipes, with the links to some of my earlier recipes that you can check out for more ideas. And since I’ve talked about vacations and souvenirs, I chose the recipes I wrote after being in Salento, Gargano, and Cilento. Take a look! 😉
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
I hadn’t photographed this recipe with the intention of publishing it, I had these few photos in my archive purely for personal memory, and for this reason, I can’t give you the weights of the ingredients, I don’t know them! 😀 But this is a recipe that can be done by eye, in any case, I’ll give you some more details in the procedure.
- calamarata (whole wheat)
- cherry tomatoes (cherry or date or similar)
- sun-dried tomatoes
- basil
- breadcrumbs
- extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Pasta Pot
- Frying Pan
How to Prepare Whole Wheat Calamarata with Two Kinds of Tomatoes
For those unfamiliar with this pasta shape, here’s the whole wheat calamarata I used.
1. Bring water to a boil for the pasta and when it boils, cook it. The pasta cooking time is more than enough to prepare the sauce.
2. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Place them in a frying pan along with some sun-dried tomatoes, a clove of minced garlic, some basil leaves, and a drizzle of oil.
👉 I used dried Pachino tomatoes (but larger tomatoes, like San Marzano, cut into pieces, are also fine) rehydrated and then seasoned, as I had described in these two recipes: Sun-dried Tomatoes with Garlic and Olives and Sun-dried Tomatoes with Tropea Spring Onions.
3. Sauté everything briefly. Just a few minutes, the time needed to soften the cherry tomatoes while keeping them whole.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and place it in the pan.
5. Sauté
6. During the sautéing, sprinkle with some breadcrumbs (just a little is enough).
Serve immediately or… given the heat these days, serve at room temperature. 😊
Here, and now, after a plate of whole wheat calamarata with two kinds of tomatoes, what to refresh yourself with? You just have to take a look at my colleagues’ Light and Tasty proposals:
Carla: Goat Cheese Rolls
Daniela: Kefir, Banana, Almond, and Berry Smoothie
Elena: Watermelon Cake
Franca: Jasmine Sorbet
Milena: Yogurt and Strawberry Ice Cream Bars
Serena: Lemon Mint
Have a great Light and Tasty summer, see you in September! 🤗
Salt-Free Tips
For today’s salt-free tips, just two simple notes:
1. the presence of sun-dried tomatoes eliminates any need for added salt,
2. chili pepper can be added.
2. chili pepper can be added.
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
– Gradually decrease the salt, the palate needs to get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
– Use spices. Chili pepper, black pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
– Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
– Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
– Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
– Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
– Prefer fresh foods.
– Avoid boiling methods, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse the flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
– Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
– Allow occasional exceptions to the rule. It’s good for your mood and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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