We finally got a break in the weather where it became more bearable which meant cooking on the stove wouldn’t be torture. It has been absolutely wonderful the past several days. I was in the mood for pasta but not for anything too complicated as it’s been very busy this week and I haven’t figured out how to clone myself. 🙂
So I thought I would do my version of Aio e Oio which is garlic and olive oil. Seriously you could not come up with a simpler dish. The only way to make this easier is call and make dinner reservations. Boiling the water is the reason this takes so long!
We have a ton of thyme in the garden so I chopped up a handful as well as about 4 cloves of garlic. Finely chop the garlic so it evenly distributes over the pasta.
Heat up enough olive oil to coat the pasta. You do not want this soupy or greasy. This should have a lightness to the flavours. Saute the garlic and thyme with some sea salt. Don’t do this on a high heat. I did this on medium low and was patient with it as I wanted the garlic cooked but not burnt.
Toss in the cooked pasta. I chose a tortellini stuffed with cheeses and prosciutto. While keeping that warm I quickly made a caprese salad. I really wish I had time to make my mozzarella cheese as store bought doesn’t cut it. I sliced up fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden and drizzled with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A great pairing with the pasta.
The tomatoes had such a lovely red. I love just walking by and eating them. Delicious!
I enjoyed this meal with a glass of sauvignon blanc. 🙂
Seriously I need to be this organized…great job!!! See you soon!
Thanks. 🙂
I am sooo envious of you having homegrown tomatoes. They look lovely in the caprese. Love the pasta, too. 🙂 I had always heard it as aglio e olio so I had to look this up. Now I know it’s a Roman dialect for garlic and olive oil pasta. Learn something new everyday. 😀
Yes I’ve seen it both ways but until now I didn’t know why! 🙂 We planted 51 tomato plants this year. A whole lot of delish!
I can’t get 1 to produce. 🙁
When do you try to plant them? This year has been the best. I planted them with egg shells. And we started the seedlings back in late February. They need loads of calcium.
The problem is several-fold. First, the location of the garden isn’t very good for tomatoes because it gets almost no morning sun and all afternoon sun. Second, Texas heat is brutal so all summer long I get blossom drop. In the fall I get beautiful tomatoes but the first freeze always hits before they ripen. There are certain varieties that will grow in the Texas heat but I have had such poor success, I just quit trying. I can and do grow lots of herbs, greens, chiles, mint, onions, asparagus, parsley and cilantro. Just no tomatoes.
What a shame. Do you have a greenhouse and maybe grow them in pots?
no greenhouse – the yard isn’t big enough- and I have never had success with tomatoes in pots. Again, great, healthy plants, just no fruit.
It would be a pain but if you know frost is coming you could put coverings over them. We had to do that last fall for a lot of veg as frost came early. We tucked them in each night. I didn’t want all that great veg going to waste.
My kind of meal! 🙂 Love both your salad and pasta. Have not made Aio e Olio with thyme before. I know I would love it.
Spaghetti aglio e olio has been a favorite of mine since I was a boy. And I’m waiting for my tomatoes to ripen so that the caprese salad making can start. It’s a great time of the year, isn’t it? 🙂
I love it! 🙂
Favourite dish of mine too….I like the addition of pepperoncini flakes to give that extra bite:)
I love layers of flavours and I can’t say no to cheese at all. 🙂
This looks fantastic! And it’s so easy too…
Which makes it even better!
Very nice indeed. The home grown tomatoes are putting me to shame.
This afternoon I’ll be harvesting a ton to freeze for sauces. 🙂