Seasonal Pantry: Simple noodle dishes for summer

When heat waves come early and often, it can be easy to lose one's enthusiasm for cooking and, when it's too hot for too long, even for eating. It's been that kind of year but don't despair; there are delicious ways to enjoy summer meals without spending much, if any, time over a hot stove, oven, or grill.

As far as appetite goes, well, it does come back eventually. Watermelon and iceberg lettuce may be the best hedges against soaring temperatures but after too many days, your palate will start to wander and that's when these dishes can save you.

Ten years ago, no one would have thought twice about eating traditional Italian pasta - the kind made with wheat - but these days, you just never know. At any one table of family or friends, you may have a mix of gluten-free, Paleo, low-carb, no-carb requirements, enough to drive a home cook nuts. But these dishes, all originally paired with traditional Italian pasta, are flexible. You can choose from three noodle options, traditional Italian pasta, Asian rice noodles, and zucchini that is cut into thin ribbons using a mandoline, an inexpensive kitchen tool that is easy to use.

You may also use steamed white rice - hot or chilled - as a bed for any of these fast summer sauces. Brown rice will not work as well as a substitute, because ingredients and seasonings must be adjusted to pair well with it. It is better, in my opinion, to develop dishes to go with it specifically.

And you don't have to offer everyone the same thing. Just set up a little buffet, offering the sauce and several noodle options. It's easy and inexpensive and you won't have to tear your hair out trying to make everyone happy with the same thing.

A big green salad goes well with any of these dishes, as do sliced tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, grilled zucchini with cumin and lemon, grilled cabbage with salsa verde, and, for dessert, wedges of ice-cold watermelon.

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Scallions are almost universally underrated, used at least as much as a garnish as they are as an actual food. But they are absolutely delicious. In this dish, they take center stage, flavor-wise. When I make this using rice noodles, I add a few squeezes of lime juice and sometimes use a combination of peanut oil and toasted sesame oil instead of olive oil.

Quick Scallion Noodles

Serves 4

12 ounces dried spaghettini, thin rice vermicelli, or thin Romanesco zucchini ribbons (use 3 medium zucchini)

1/3 cup best-quality extra-virgin olive oil

2 bunches scallions, trimmed and cut into thin, diagonal slices

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

- Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 lemon wedges, if using zucchini

- Grating cheese, in one piece

Prepare the noodles of your choosing according to package directions or, if using zucchini noodles, plunge into boiling salted water for 60 seconds and then drain immediately.

Tip the hot noodles into a serving bowl. Add the olive oil and scallions, season with salt, pepper, and the red pepper flakes and, if using zucchini, juice from the lemon wedges. Toss gently, grate a little cheese over the top, and enjoy right away.

Pass the cheese and its grater so guests may add as much cheese as they like.

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If you have a summer garden, there's a good chance you have too much zucchini. Even a single vine puts out more than most families can keep up with. A good solution to too much zucchini is to snag the blossoms before they turn into fruit. There are many recipes for stuffed zucchini blossoms, deep-fried zucchini blossoms, and zucchini blossom strips in salad. Here's another delicious way to use the prolific petals.

Sunshine Noodles

Serves 6

2 dozen medium (about 2- to 3-inches wide) zucchini flowers, rinsed and dried on a tea towel

1 pound dried noodles or fresh zucchini noodles (see Note below)

2 tablespoons butter

2 shallots, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 ounces prosciutto, cut in thin strips

- Kosher salt

3 tablespoons best-quality extra-virgin olive oil

4 ounces (½ cup) grating cheese of choice, such as Vella Dry Jack, Estero Gold, or similar local cheese

- Black pepper in a mill

- Kosher salt

2 tablespoons snipped chives

- Small zucchini blossoms, for garnish (optional)

Cut the zucchini flowers in half lengthwise, remove the stalk and stamen, and cut the flower petals into medium julienne. Cover with a tea towel and set aside.

Prepare the pasta according to package directions; if using zucchini, blanch in salted boiling water for 60 seconds and drain.

Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan, add the shallots, and sauté over medium-low heat until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more.

Add the prosciutto and julienned blossoms to the pan, toss quickly, and sauté until the flowers just wilt. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Put the pasta into a serving bowl, add the zucchini flower mixture, all of the pan drippings, and the olive oil. Toss together quickly, add the cheese, and toss again. Season with several generous turns of black pepper and salt to taste. Add the chives, toss gently, garnish with zucchini blossoms, if using, and enjoy hot.

Note: Use Italian linguine or rice noodles that are about as wide as linguine; you'll find them in Asian markets, often labeled “rice sticks”. If using zucchini, use the small noodle blade on your mandoline.

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We should all have several ways to make dinner using summer's tomatoes without having to do a lot of cooking. In this dish, the only cooking involved is of the pasta. If you like the sauce in this recipe but don't want to eat wheat, you can toss the sauce with thinly sliced and very quickly sautéed half rounds of zucchini or spoon it over steamed rice.

Pasta with Uncooked Tomato-Ricotta Sauce

Serves 4 to 6

4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (or quartered, if large)

4-5 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

4 tablespoons best-quality extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sliced pitted olives of choice (optional)

- Handful of fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, Italian parsley), torn into small pieces

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

1 pound orecchiette or other medium pasta shape

6 ounces (¾ cup) fresh ricotta, preferably from Bellwether Farms

1 tablespoon fresh snipped chives

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, olives (if using), and herbs. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.

Add the ricotta with the tomatoes, spoonful by spoonful, and toss gently; do not stir the cheese into the tomatoes. Drain the pasta, do not rinse it, and immediately add it to the tomato and ricotta mixture. Toss thoroughly so that the cheese melts from the heat of the pasta. Taste, correct the seasoning, scatter the chives over the top, and enjoy right away.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “The Good Cook's Book of Tomatoes.” Email her at catsmilk@sonic.net.