Busy summer days at the pool or park, call for quick and easy family dinners. This pasta dish serves up all the fresh summer flavors in one bowl! Getting out the door and into the pool, with four kids, can be quite the event in itself… so we really are in no rush to get back inside once we “settle in.” Often, we find ourselves swimming well into dinner time, and with the idea of getting four littles into showers and baths, the last thing I want to worry about is what to cook for dinner.
I literally crave the fresh and healthy flavors of basil, olive oil and lemon in the summer, and the bowtie pasta lends a great texture and “chew” to the dish – it’s really perfect. Pasta is low on the food chain as far as nutritional benefits go, so I don’t cook with it often, but the simple carbs and fresh flavor is perfect in this Summer Bowtie Pasta dish.We enjoy this as a meal in itself, or as a side dish to another entree. We all love Summer Bowtie Pasta hot OR cold, which makes it ideal for leftovers too. If you’re growing basil in your garden – bonus points! I just buy organic fresh basil from the grocer or Amazon Prime. Either way will do, just avoid dried basil in the jar because it won’t taste quite the same for this summery, fresh vegetarian bowtie pasta recipe! * When you click on my favorite product links, I may earn a tiny commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Big Little Bites blog*
Pasta Alternatives for Summer Bowtie Pasta
Are you gluten-free, or just trying to choose more nutrient-dense real foods? If you wanted to make this dish more nutritious and gluten-free, you can easily substitute the bowtie noodles with whole grain or alternative pasta options.
My top choices for whole grains that substitute well in Summer Bowtie Pasta are:
When substituting pasta for whole grains, I add more olive and lemon juice to taste.
How to Maximize Flavor
As a last note, I’ll just say that a quality olive oil and salt make a world of a difference! Not all are created equal, and I talk more about why, and how to choose quality, in my recipe post for Black Bean Soup.
My favorite, reasonably priced and safe olive oil is made right here in the United States and I trust the brand based on research, a clear harvest date label on their bottles and their certifications.
For salt, I only use Redmond Real Salt, and you may have heard me talk about this before. Redmond Real Salt is unprocessed, unrefined, unbleached real salt with 60+ trace minerals that are essential for your optimum health. If you want to give it a try, I talked them into giving me a discount code to share with my followers! Shop Redmond Real Salt (and their other great products!) with code “BLB” for 15% off your order.
Summer Bowtie Pasta
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large skillet
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp + 1/8 C olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 c grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 pkg bowtie (farfalle) pasta
- 2 stems fresh basil, thinly sliced
- fresh squeezed lemon juice or zest of 1 lemon, optional
Instructions
- Set a large pot of water over high heat until it boils. Add the package of bowtie noodles and cook according to directions. When you drain the noodles after cooking, reserve 1 tablespoon of the starchy water.
- Heat a skillet over low for 5 minutes.
- Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet, along with sliced garlic. Allow to sizzle for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle in the salt and tomato halves. Continue to cook, stirring once in a while, until the the tomato halves begin to wilt and slightly change color.
- Remove the skillet from heat and add the reserved pasta water to the tomato and garlic mixture. Pour drained bowtie noodles into the skillet, along with the remaining 1/8 cup of olive oil. Stir to coat.
- Empty the contents of the skillet into a pasta serving bowl and add more salt, and some pepper, to taste.