15 Minute Fabulous Summer Pasta Ideas

Hot Pasta Entree Ideas

Pasta has a definite place on your summer menu. Pasta can be served hot or cold, as an entree or salad. Most of the pasta ideas we will share with you today can be prepared in under 20 minutes from start to table.

Also past dishes whether cold or hot are great as leftovers and keep well. Pasta is like stew the second day, the flavors have blended and enhanced the ingredients and are even better the second time around.

The shrimp entree shown above can be done with any past but probably best with spaghetti or angel hair pasta. Heat enough olive oil for a sauce base and add fresh herbs such as chopped parsley, and oregano with a freshly juiced lemon, and a little water or white wine. Add shrimp and toss to coat the pasta and shrimp and serve hot.

Experiment with Ingredients

Don’t be timid with experimenting with ingredients. Great chefs make a few second rate meals on the way to finding incredible combinations that make their culinary expertise standout. Many of the olive oils and balsamic vinegars that you can purchase at Tastealotta are a great base for the sauces that make pasta an amazing meal.

Try different types of vegetables, such as with the pasta dish above; using broccoli rabe and your favorite mushrooms. If you want a meat interest, you could add sautéed bacon or chicken and then dust with freshly shaved parmesan cheese. An olive oil warmed with herbs of your choice that won’t overpower the vegetable and mushrooms would be the way to go for an outstanding pasta dish.

Pasta Is a Great Way to Use Leftovers

When I look at the photo above I think of a Margherita Pizza made as a pasta dish. It has all of the same wonderful ingredients as the pizza done as a pasta dish. Your choice of pasta from spaghetti to rigatoni, olive oil, herbs, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and garden ripened tomatoes.

Use your choice of Tastealotta olive oil enough for the amount of pasta being cooked, warm in a sauté pan and then add your fresh herbs including fresh chopped parsley, some wine and flavors of your choice. Add halved baby tomatoes and fresh sprigs of basil to finish off the dish.

Pasta blends so well with so many different vegetables. It’s also a great way to get picky eaters to eat their vegetable when paired with pasta! Above all don’t be timid about introducing different ingredients, such as tuna or slivered almonds with your pasta creation.

Pasta Salad Ideas for Summer

Who can resist sun-dried tomatoes? They make pasta a taste sensation. The rigatoni and sun-dried pasta dish above could be done warm or cold, your choice. First night could be warm and leftovers could be a salad added to a entree for dinner. Olive oil, fresh herbs and fresh grated Romano or Parmesan cheese make a winning finish to this dish.

Love this way of using olives in a pasta salad. Bow-tie pasta, olives and fresh greens dusted with shaved Parmesan cheese. What could be better?

Mixing different colors and flavors makes for a great pasta salad combination. Using different peppers, green onions, chopped fresh parsley, corn, endive, even artichoke hearts, makes for great pasta salad interest.

Pasta Can Be Zoodles

When we think pasta we usually think of the type we have at Tastealotta, but for a great no carb pasta treat you can either buy or make your own zoodles. Zoodles are noodles made from zucchini. But you can also use spaghetti squash, butternut squash and many other types of vegetables to make a no-carb version of pasta. Using vegetables for your pasta brings down the calorie load while giving you extra vegetables in your salad dish. Zoodles can be part of a summer salad or a substitute for pasta in a warm pasta dish.

At Tastealotta we have a wide variety of balsamic vinegars and olive oils to choose from, to encourage your creativity in your kitchen and to be the base or ingredient in pasta dishes this summer. Be sure to come into our store in Lemoyne, PA or visit our online store to view our wonderful selection of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, and speciality vinegars that we feature year-round.