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Photo:Jen Causey
Jen Causey
In the middle of summer, I don’t really want to heat up the kitchen to cook dinner. Honestly, my thoughts keep turning to ice cream and though I wish this was the perfect meal choice for me, at my age, it’s not. I look, feel and act healthy—and generally, I am. But I’ve had a few of the larger health scares in life, including breast cancer (twice). So I’d love the ice cream—and all those other easy but not-so-healthy things to eat—but it wouldn’t love me back. Instead, I now prioritizeanti-inflammatory ingredientsin everything I eat.
But I still need pasta. (It’s more of an emotional thing than anything else, perhaps.) Instead of traditional pasta, I’ve transitioned to using whole-wheat pasta. But finding dishes where I could just swap in the whole-wheat pasta for traditional has been a challenge, as it’s not the same blank canvas for other flavors. After much searching, I finally found a recipe that works for me, offering the full pasta experience while also bringing the good healthy stuff:Burrata Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Spinach.
This pasta dish is comfort food at its finest and lightest. Its mood is festive, and it reminds me of the fast and delicious homestyle dish my Italian mother-in-law would often make for her large family: a pasta tossed with a light tomato sauce and very simply topped with dollops of seductive ricotta. Just like that dish, this recipe is quick and easy to make. It’s also filled with spectacular summer produce, and it has a sense of being totally luxurious (while also being healthy) with its topping of creamy burrata cheese.
Making this dish is an exercise in aromatherapy. First, the forest-green basil leaves waft a shock of aroma out into the kitchen much like an energy field. This sense of sudden awakening shouldn’t be surprising, as the herb is known for its stimulating scent. It’s pure summer, distilled, and as I take a deep breath, the idea of cooking starts to become attractive, no longer a chore.
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Strangely enough, for me it’s not all about how this tastes and smells, though those are the primary things my lizard brain seeks. The concept of eating more healthy foods rather than less must be a part of my reality—regardless of what my lizard brain tells me. I’m looking for pro-health, anti-inflammatory, low-salt, low- or no-sugar, whole grains and low-in-saturated fat, and the idea of using whole-wheat pasta rather than traditional pasta is a biggie. It means I’ll eat a smaller portion and stay full longer. And then there’s the avoidance of that energy spike and subsequent sudden energy drop that hit me when eating traditional pasta.
Though this dish fits the bill of essential summer dining, it can be enjoyed in any season. If you happen to be lucky enough to have leftovers, they can be used for aspaghetti frittatathe next day. Pack it for lunch with a green salad on the side.
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