Right Now: Creamy Feta Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil

A layered summer meal

We can all agree: it’s hot out. A good time to cook as little as possible, if at all. While pasta requires boiling water for a good chunk of time, if you cover the pot as it boils and keep a close eye as the pasta cooks, it doesn’t have to heat up your whole house. I’m usually one to fish my pasta out of the pot with a slotted spaghetti spoon, but in the heat of summer, a proper colander quickly dispenses with all that steamy water, leaving your kitchen cooler. Do save a little cupful of pasta water for tossing your pasta. No matter the season, pasta water is key. 

Once you have your al dente pasta, there’s a lot you can do with it. I’m partial to warm pasta dishes, as opposed to those that are chilled – the chill renders chewy starches brittle and unappealing. Instead, toss your warm pasta with olive oil and balsamic, herbs, tomatoes, roasted peppers, cucumbers, or torn mozzarella for a delightful summer meal.

If you’re in for something only slightly more labor intensive, break out your food processor and blitz some feta, garlic, lemon juice, and Greek yogurt together for a creamy and assertively briny pasta sauce. Toss the pasta with the simple sauce and layer on whatever you have on hand. Here, cherry tomatoes and copious amounts of basil, but I imagine sauteed summer squash or zucchini, or thinly sliced and salted cukes would be delicious. Add herbs by the handful, and you have a substantial summer meal, at once effortless and irresistible. 

Not bad for barely cooking. 

Creamy Feta Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil