Okay, once again I'm going to seem pretentious. But Tom and I made a fabulous pasta dish over the weekend, and simply calling it "Angel Hair Pasta with Purple Basil" does not begin to do it justice! It deserves its beautiful, lyrical Italian name: Capelli d'Angelo con Basilico Viola. [kah-PAY-lee DAHN-jel-OH kohn bah-SEEL-ee-koh vee-OHL-uh]
Such simplicity - beautiful tomatoes and deeply violet-colored basil from the farmers' market, some contrasting color from baby spinach leaves, the depth of flavor from the Gorgonzola ... sigh. It doesn't take anything very complicated to make a spectacular meal, just exceptional ingredients.
There was no grand plan for this dish; while perusing the bounty at the Farmers Market on Saturday, we found a gorgeous bouquet of purple basil. It cost $1 ... well, how could we refuse? We didn't know what we'd do with it, but there had to be something it could work with.
A few other items were thrown into the mix, and there was lunch - a lovely light meal featuring summer produce, colorful and immensely flavorful!
Angel Hair Pasta with Purple Basil8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions
2 tablespoons oil
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (i.e.: Mrs. Dash)
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup purple basil leaves, cut into fine strips
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and tomato; cook until the tomatoes produce some juice, then add spinach and cook just until wilted. Stir vegetables into pasta, and place onto a serving platter.
Sprinkle basil over the pasta, then top with the Gorgonzola.
Serves 2-4.
This is my kind of pasta meal, Mary. It looks so beautiful with all of the colors in it. I've never had purple basil before. Does it taste like regular sweet basil?
ReplyDeleteI love how your Italian comes out when you create delicious Italian dishes like this :) I'll admit, I have never had purple basil before... now I feel like I need to go on a mission to find some. The pasta looks beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteThe green and purple are quite similar in flavor, so they're interchangeable. And how pretty would this be if you had access to both??? :)
ReplyDeleteMeredith planted a bunch of purple basil this summer. Now I know what we can do with it. The colour in that dish is amazing.
ReplyDeleteJust gotta find where she planted the Gorgonzola...
Dang, this looks good! I don't know if it's your photos or recipe but this is one dish that will have to be repeated my kitchen. I've only seen the purple basil before and now have an excuse to buy some. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh Mary! Doesn't that name just roll off the tongue so smoothly! You know I love beautiful food and I've really gotten into basil this summer. Wonderful meal plan!! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, to imagine beautiful purple basil in a dish just brings a smile to my face!!!! Like a beautiful symphony, your dish sounds just divine!
ReplyDeleteI love all the colorful produce at the farmer's market this time of the year. I can almost smell the wonderful aroma of that purple basil, and I bet it tastes great too.
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