Easy No Cook End-of-Summer Recipe for Your Abundance of Tomatoes

End of August and September, for most of us, are transitional months; we are still reaping the rewards of summer- warm days and produce from our gardens, but we are more mindful of fall- back to school schedules and menu planning.  This is one of my favorite summer recipes that transitions well into the beginning of fall.  I have been making this recipe since 2005 when I first discovered it in my July issue of Cooking Light.  I think I cheated the first time and used a large can of Muir Glen's fire roasted chopped tomatoes, and it was still amazing. But since your gardens and  farmer's markets still carry really great tomatoes right now, I highly suggest using fresh for the best taste bud sensation. It's great with a simple addition of a crisp salad and the best whole grain loaf bread you can find to sop up this addictive sauce.


Spaghetti with Peppery No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Strong ingredients--like pungent cheese, sharp olives, fruity olive oil, and briny capers--give this pasta sauce plenty of flavor so there's no cooking necessary. Quickly peel tomatoes by plunging them into the boiling pasta water (before adding the pasta) for 20 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon, and quickly rinse under cold water. The skins will slip right off.

1 pound uncooked spaghetti
2 cups chopped seeded peeled tomato (about 5 medium tomatoes)
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled ricotta salata or feta cheese
1/3 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup capers
1 1/2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced


Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Combine tomato and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add pasta, and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)


NUTRITION PER SERVING

CALORIES 330(29% from fat); FAT 10.7g (sat 3.9g,mono 3.9g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 11g; CHOLESTEROL 15mg; CALCIUM 48mg; SODIUM 685mg; FIBER 2.8g; IRON 1.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.2g