My Favorite Summer Pasta

This pasta dish is our summer favorite.

You can whip it up very quickly and no need to measure ingredients.
A handful of this, and a handful of that.

Great for a weeknight dinner or for company.
You can use rotini or spaghetti, but I used tagliatelle.

La Cucina Italiana sent me Delverde Handmade Pastas, high end artisanal products made in Majella National Park in Abruzzo.

I received a beautiful box of products to try.

My job was to submit a recipe using their pasta and if I win first prize, I get flown to New York City and get an expense paid few days.

Um, what they don't know is that I can drive to NYC, about 30 minutes, but it still would be nice to win.
(How about flying me to Italy instead?????).

If you can find this particular artisan variety, the spinach tagliatelle nests, then I recommend you buy a few packages.
Even the aroma was amazing while the pasta was cooking. I'm in love.

All natural, made in Italy with spring water, I really tasted the difference, almost like homemade.

The spinach variety paired beautifully with my summer sauce of garden tomatoes, anchovies, Italian tuna and basil.

Tagliatelle with Cherry Tomatoes, Tuna, Anchovies & Basil:

16 oz. pasta (rotini, spaghetti or tagliatelle)
1 jar or 2 cans of good Italian tuna in oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 pint (about 2 cups) of garden fresh cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup of kalamata olives, pitted & sliced
3 anchovies, rinsed, drained and chopped
2 tbsp of capers, drained
1/3 cup of olive oil
fresh basil leaves for garnish

Start the cold sauce at least an hour before serving.

In a large bowl, marinate the tomatoes with the garlic, anchovies, capers, olives and oil for at least 1 hour and up to 3 at room temperature. The longer they sit, the better they will be.

Cook pasta as per directions. The spinach tagliatelle nests took 5 minutes only.

Drain the pasta and toss the hot pasta with the raw tomato sauce and toss with tongs.

Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

The BEST!

(FYI: I found the spinach tagliatelle in Stop & Shop, Kings in Short Hills and Wegman's in NJ).