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Sweet cherry tomatoes are blistered with butter, garlic, fresh herbs, and a splash of white wine, then tossed with bucatini and creamy burrata. Finished with homemade lemon garlic breadcrumbs, it’s an easy summer pasta that’s perfect for nights when you’re craving Italian flavors made with the season’s freshest ingredients.
Aside from summer salads, this is the kind of dinner I crave most this time of year. The simplest pasta made with what’s fresh and growing—ingredients that are practically at our fingertips if you’re lucky enough to have a little summer garden.
Even if you’re like me this summer, growing mostly fresh herbs and little bundles of dahlias, tomatoes are at their absolute best right now and easy to find at every farmers market and grocery store.
I talk about my childhood a lot because so many of my favorite recipes come from watching my dad cook during our Ohio summers.
Pasta was always on the dinner table at least once a week, and as soon as my dad’s tomato plants were overflowing, those tomatoes found their way into simple salads and quick stovetop pastas. There was always garlic involved (the jar of pre-chopped garlic was his favorite), plenty of fresh basil, a generous handful of cheese, cracked black pepper, and, of course, chili flakes. My dad never held back on the olive oil, the cheese, or the chili flakes. He loves a saucy pasta and believes almost everything tastes better with a little heat.
Those simple summer dinners are still some of my favorites, and they’re exactly what I thought about when I first made this recipe.
A few weeks ago, after getting home from a work trip, I was determined not to run to the grocery store or place an Instacart order. I looked around the kitchen and realized I already had everything I needed, right down to a loaf of ciabatta tucked away in the freezer. It felt like the perfect excuse to make the simplest summer pasta.
When it comes to summer cooking, I’ve always believed simple is best. If I don’t have to turn on the oven, even better. Pour a glass of wine, let the tomatoes do the work, and call it dinner.
This pasta comes together in minutes, making it perfect for any night of the week. It’s just as wonderful for a quiet family dinner as it is for entertaining. Set out a simple cheese board, a bowl of olives, your favorite crackers, and a bottle of wine, then let the pasta be the star.
Because that’s what summer entertaining is all about—simple food, good wine, and lingering around the table with the people you love.
