Summer Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce

When the weather is too hot to think (nevermind turning on the stove for long) and the tomatoes are perfect and ripe, why even bother cooking them? This quick and easy pasta dish with raw tomato sauce makes the most of summer produce while getting dinner on the table in 20 minutes.

Hello, all!

Here at BitofBacon HQ we are in the middle of heat wave. Okay, yes, it’s the New England version of a heat wave and not the Florida version or the Arizona version, but it’s still too hot for me! Mid-90’s and humid is plenty hot and certainly doesn’t have me wanting to turn on my stove. 🙂

Luckily, I have a whole pile of yummy no cook or quick cook or grill only recipes to take care of these hot days.

I’ve shared a few already this summer, like Cold Cucumber Buttermilk Soup, Smooth Tomato Gazpacho and Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken Wings.

All tasty and perfect for hot days (and all daughter approved – I have to start making more gazpacho because she ate half the last batch), and now it’s time for my latest recipe.

You do have to boil pasta, but that’s it! Get the ripest tomatoes you can find and some good, fruity olive oil and dinner will be served.

In addition to barely heating up the kitchen, another benefit right now to this recipe is that the only ingredient which needs to be stored in the fridge are the olives.

Why do I care?

Well, we had our second major appliance failure of the year this month! 😮 Earlier in the year the dishwasher died in the middle of the night and so we had to go buy another. And now it’s the fridge.

Yay.

It wasn’t sudden failure, but more of a slower decline where I woke up one day and half the food in the freezer wasn’t quite frozen. This was a sign. Considering it was a 20 year old fridge, we opted to buy a new one rather than try repairing it.

However, that means I’m reduced to a small, beverage fridge for a couple of weeks! It should be interesting trying to come up with recipes which don’t need much fridge space.

But back to food!

I’ve been making this recipe for several years now and I always love how easy it is to prepare without sacrificing any flavor. That is one of the wonderful things about fresh, properly ripened produce. Ripe tomatoes are amazing all by themselves, so I’m happy to dust slices with a little salt and eat them as is.

However, add a little basil, a little olive oil, some olives, toss it all with pasta, and we move from a tasty afternoon snack to a dinner you’ll be happy to make again and again.

If you try my recipe for Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Summer Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce

In this recipe for pasta with raw tomato sauce ripe, flavorful tomatoes are tossed with freshly cooked pasta along with fruity olive oil and basil.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: raw tomato sauce, salsa cruda

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 425kcal

Author: justalittlebitofbacon

Ingredients

• 10 oz medium sized pasta shells, such as conchiglie
• 1 1/2 lbs tomatoes, about 5 medium
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.
• While the water is heating, seed the tomatoes and dice them into 1/2 inch pieces, reserving the seeds.
• Place the tomatoes into the serving bowl for the pasta. Strain the seeds through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the tomatoes. Discard the strained seeds. Toss the tomatoes and juice with the salt.
• Cut the olives in half and finely slice the basil. Add the olives, basil, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil to the bowl and combine with the tomatoes.
• As soon as the pasta is cooked, drain and toss the pasta with the tomato sauce. Serve.