We are reaching that funny time of year when I’m ready for all things fall, but the garden and the weather haven’t quite gotten the memo. So before I move on to soups, casseroles and everything cozy, we squeezed in what may have been one of our last true summer suppers of the year.
Ivy Odom’s Summer Pasta has caught my eye every time I’ve flipped through her cookbook, and when I looked at the recipe recently, I realized we already had so many of the ingredients on hand. Tomatoes and basil were still hanging on in our garden, probably the last of both for the season, and I couldn’t think of a better way to use them.
Whit was out for the night, so it was just Honey and me for dinner. We put on some music, opened a bottle of white wine for the pasta and made good use of the rest of the bottle while we cooked. It was one of those evenings when I was perfectly happy to spend a little extra time in the kitchen with nowhere else we needed to be. And this pasta was worth it.
From Ivy Odom’s My Southern Kitchen
It’s filled with all of those flavors that taste like the very end of summer: sweet corn, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil, along with onion, garlic and a little crushed red pepper. The sauce gets white wine, a splash of cream, Parmesan and fresh lemon, so it’s creamy without becoming a heavy cream sauce.
Perhaps my favorite part, though, was the topping. Ivy makes crispy breadcrumbs with basil and lemon zest to scatter over the finished pasta, and that little bit of crunch and freshness on top was SO good. Between those and the bucatini soaking up the glossy sauce, there was a lot more going on here than your typical throw-together summer pasta.
I’m not going to share the recipe here because it comes from Ivy’s cookbook, and it doesn’t seem as if she’s shared it. You’ll have to get your hands on a copy for all the details, but I can happily recommend the book itself. I reach for mine regularly, and Summer Pasta has now earned a place among the recipes I’ll return to.
It was fresh and summery but still felt like a proper Sunday supper, and it was just right for a quiet dinner for two with Honey.
All Recipes | Sunday Supper | School Night Supper
Happy Hour | Appetizers | Sweets & Treats
Instant Pot | Crock Pot | Grill | Sunday Brunch
Menu Plans
Dixie Delights
travel • home • celebrations • everyday delights
Instagram | Pinterest
Dixie Travels
exceptional vacations • expertly planned
Disney • Universal • Cruises • Luxury Hotels
Start Planning | Learn More
Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest