3 Light Summer Pasta Recipes Using the Season's Freshest Ingredients

by Sacha Strebe

light summer pasta_athena calderone

While our weekly dinner menu changes, one meal remains season after season: Pasta! Come fall, winter, spring, and yes, even summer, pasta is a constant in our lives. Spaghetti, rigatoni, bucatini, and mafalda... we love them all! One thing that does change month to month is the sauce and it's typically whatever Mother Nature is serving up at our local Farmer's Market which is abundant with bright and colorful produce right now.

At this time of year, our approach is always the same: Keep it simple. It's less about technique and more about letting the ingredients shine. There is nothing we love more than riffing on a favorite recipe with fresh seasonal produce. Spontaneity is key! So we're sharing three of our favorite light summer pasta recipes using this season's star ingredients—because pasta should be enjoyed all year round!

"While all tomatoes have a place in my kitchen, I am particularly enamored with these little Sungold jewels for their sweet, nuanced favor. Cooked until they just burst open, they’re then infused with a touch of sumac and a bright punch of lime zest and juice to really get your tastebuds talking. This pasta recipe is so quick, simple, and delicious that I find myself making it repeatedly during tomato season." — Athena Calderone

MAKE THE RECIPE

"This is the simplest but the most delicious summer pasta you will ever make."

– ATHENA CALDERONE

"I turn to this pasta recipe again and again, all summer long. At the heart of this dish are fresh zucchini, ricotta, and lemons, zested and juiced. It's everything I could ever want from a light summer pasta. Because this recipe is so simple, salt and pasta water are crucial. Its starch, coupled with the pecorino’s richness and the ricotta's creaminess helps bind and thicken the dish, melding all of the ingredients." — Athena Calderone

MAKE THE RECIPE

“THIS lemon ZUCCHINI PASTA IS summer COOKING TO THE core—NO fuss, SUPER fresh, AND SUPER simple.”

– ATHENA CALDERONE

"No pasta has a hold on me quite like Alla Gricia. There are many reasons why I love this dish so much. Most simply, because it’s a mixture of cheese, guanciale, fresh black pepper, and pasta. Less obviously, because when I first tried it two years ago, it felt like I’d won the jackpot. The Alla Gricia recipe is basically a mixture of Carbonara and Cacio e Pepe. It takes what I believe to be the two best parts of both, and combines them in a simple fashion." — Romilly Newman

MAKE THE RECIPE

"BEST ENJOYED AMONG PEOPLE YOU LOVE (or solo!) ON lingering SUMMER EVENINGS, THAT PERHAPS END A LITTLE TOO LATE, BUT happily so!"

– ROMILLY NEWMAN