Now, if this isn’t the quintessential summertime meal, I don’t know what is!
I’m not gonna lie – it’s been a bit of a rough day. Work and home events (with a $650 mechanic bill as the cherry on top!) today have conspired to cast a pall over Chez Recessionista today, so I knew that what LeeLee and I needed was a bright and cheerful meal, and fast. (A glass of white wine didn’t hurt, either.) Enter: Lemon-basil pasta!
I know I’ve written about this dish before, but indulge me for a moment, if you please, in this my hour of need. :) I can’t get over how such a simple, quick-cooking dinner can taste so good! But this one hits the spot, each and every time.
Tonight, as the penne cooked, I added a quarter-cup of olive oil, a tablespoon (plus a splash) of white balsamic vinegar, the juice of two lemons, a carton of grape tomatoes, about 20 leaves of chopped basil, a block of cubed Gruyere cheese, salt, and pepper to a serving dish and combined them all well. Once the pasta drained, I tossed it with the oil-and-lemon mixture, plunked a slice of toasted garlic bread on each of our plates, and dug in!
I’m telling you what, this may have been a stressful day, but by the end of this dinner we were both more relaxed, laughing and carrying on as per normal. That’s the magic of the lemon-basil pasta, friends. (And maybe the glass of wine.) It’s a curative remedy for whatever ails you!
:)