This dish tastes like summer on a plate.  Light and fresh and easy.  I bought at Sam’s Club a big package of Roma tomatoes to make salsa but decided to divert some for dinner.

Back when I thought Olive Garden was good Italian food, I would drag my mom there.  The only dish she liked was the capellini pomodoro.  (She is a food snob of the first order. Love you mom.)  When trying to come up with dinner the other night, it was that dish I had in mind. I have to say I was surprised by how wonderful this dish tasted…the ingredients are deceptively simple.

Pasta Pomodoro

Favorite pasta (I use Dreamfield’s almost exclusively and it was a 13.5 oz box…the kids usually eat one of the pastas with added protein and omega-3s)

2 Tbl olive oil

1 medium vidalia onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced (please, use fresh…no jarred stuff and NO garlic salt…a unicorn loses its horn every time you use garlic salt)

1 lb+ Roma tomatoes (err on the plus side of a pound), seeded and finely chopped (seeded means cut the stem out of the top and squeeze them over the sink to get the liquidy gook out…you just want to fruit/flesh of the tomato)

1 tsp sea salt (yes, that is a lot but the tomatoes need it…give the tomatoes some salty love people!)

1 Tbl balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine (you can use 1 Cup broth and skip wine if you wish…but increase the vinegar to provide more acid)

Handful of fresh herbs, chopped finely (I used basil, oregano, and parsley – wish I had had more basil to add)

Red pepper flakes to taste

Freshly grated parmesan or asiago cheese

Cook pasta according to package.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Saute the onion until it starts to brown a little.  Throw in the garlic (don’t burn it – burnt garlic is bitter) for a quick minute.  Add the tomatoes, salt, vinegar, broth, and wine.  Cook 5-7 minutes.  You want the tomatoes to retain their red color and some firmness – you don’t want to turn them mushy.  Turn off the heat and throw in the fresh herbs (if you insist on using dried, add them with the liquids before cooking because dried herbs need time to soften and marry with the rest of the flavors but this recipe really deserves fresh herbs).  Toss the pasta in the pan with the sauce.  Top with red pepper flakes to taste and some freshly grated cheese.  YUM!

Visit Rachel for more Mouthwatering Monday concoctions.

And a little preview of our attempts to stay cool in this early summer heat wave: