Around this time of year, every other recipe you see online is of the “no-cook” variety. I understand the appeal — the cognitive dissonance of firing up your oven in July is strong, and it’s so easy to make a great salad — but regardless of the weather outside, it’s difficult for me to not cook. I’m always a bit amused by the premise; surely there are ways to avoid heatstroke while sautéing onions indoors. In fact, I successfully tempted fate on a recent sweltering weekend, making a hearty baked pasta in cream sauce with sungold tomatoes and sausage. This accomplishment was made possible by two major factors:
Air conditioning.
The enjoyment of eating pasta that is not pasta salad. (Nothing against pasta salad; more on this in later weeks.)
Besides, I find it a little oppressive to tether your cooking habits so closely to the temperature outside. I love a bowl of tomatoes or cold noodles on a hot day, of course, but I’ll gladly have a hot lentil soup no matter how humid it is.
And speaking of tomatoes: by all means, eat them raw in droves, but peak summer tomatoes demand to be cooked, too. This sungold cream sauce is one of my absolute favorites, and it works just as well with spaghetti or tagliatelle if you want to stick to the stove. However, I highly recommend baking it with super-sized conchiglie (shells) or lumaconi (fat, snail-shaped vessels), dabbled with fresh mozzarella and the baking dish rubbed in butter, Gallic-style, to crisp up its edges and underbelly.
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