Magnificent News: Eat Voraciously: A summer pasta formula

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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A summer pasta formula

Last Thursday I had back-to-back meetings all day, and my boyfriend, Joe, was supposed to come over for dinner. At some point that afternoon, I realized I didn't have much in my refrigerator. I texted him: "Things we could cook for dinner: Pasta with vegetables, pecorino and lots of black pepper? Or rice and beans and plantains? I'm also open to other ideas!"

He wrote back: "Pasta with vegetables sounds good."

When Joe arrived around 6:30 p.m. I was still working on a project for the Post Guild, so I put a pot of salted water on high and passed Joe half a red onion, a few garlic cloves, a wrinkly bell pepper, two ears of corn, three tired shishito peppers and most of a pint of cherry tomatoes.

"Uh, just chop?" I suggested as I headed back to my laptop.

"Do you want the corn cut off the cob or are we cooking it on the cob first?" he asked.

"Mmm, yeah, cut it off the cob."

When I heard the lid of the pot start to dance, I walked over to the stove, uncovered the pot of boiling water and tipped in a box of whole wheat pasta. Back to my computer.

Joe started sauteing the chopped onion and yellow pepper in olive oil. When, a few minutes later, I smelled the garlic, corn and tomatoes go in, I closed my laptop. It was time to check the pasta. Once it was done, we strained it and stirred it into the vegetables, which had melted into a rough sauce. We sprinkled in some grated pecorino, the zest of a lemon, a little salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Some torn fresh basil went on top of each serving.

"It's good!" Joe said after tasting it, sounding a little surprised. "Yep!" I nodded.

I've made some variation of this pasta countless times. It's all about the summer produce — cooking it just enough that it gets a little saucy and sticky, allowing a little heat to pull out the flavors.

This recipe, for pasta with tomatoes, spinach and feta, is in the same vein. The tomatoes give it some body and sauciness, the spinach provides color and texture, and the feta lends its salinity and creaminess. (This recipe calls for a garlic-and-shallot-infused oil that was designed for those on a low-FODMAP diet, but it's optional.) Feel free to take this formula and mix and match eggplant, summer squash, corn, dark leafy greens, tomatoes, okra, peppers, broccoli and string beans into quick pasta sauces all summer long.

Today's recipe

Photos by Scott Suchman for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post

Penne With Fresh Tomato Sauce, Spinach and Feta

Find substitution suggestions and other tips below the recipe.

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Servings: 4
Total time: 30 mins

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Gut-Friendly Garlic and Shallot Oil (see below)
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 ounces (5 cups) baby spinach
12 ounces whole-wheat or gluten-free penne pasta
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 cup), divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or oregano
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper, plus more to taste

Steps

1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to lose their shape, about 8 minutes. Stir in the spinach, a handful at a time, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted and the tomatoes have turned into a chunky sauce, about 2 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to the package instructions, until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

3. Stir 3/4 cup of the feta, the mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper into the sauce. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to combine. Taste, and season with more salt and pepper, if needed, and, if you like, add enough of the reserved cooking water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of the feta and serve hot.

Adapted from "Cook For Your Gut Health" by America's Test Kitchen (2021). Tested by Joe Yonan.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 519; Total Fat: 16 g; Saturated Fat: 6 g; Cholesterol: 25 mg; Sodium: 658 mg; Carbohydrates: 77 g; Dietary Fiber: 13 g; Sugar: 13 g; Protein: 20 g.

Substitution suggestions + other tips and ideas:

In place of the infused oil >> you can saute a couple of cloves of garlic and a small shallot, sliced or chopped, in 2 tablespoons of olive oil before adding the tomatoes.