3 Summer Pasta Ideas with Lemon, Chili and Garlic
Lemon, chili peppers and garlic bring an air of lightness to summer pasta dishes – the perfect remedy for hungry souls on a hot summer day.
The Neapolitan writer, Giuseppe Marotta, once made the point: “The important thing is to adapt your dish of spaghetti to circumstances and your state of mind.” He wrote this in defense of Italians (mostly southern Italians), who consider pasta a daily food to be enjoyed during midday. Pasta is also inexpensive to prepare and versatile…and according to circumstances, it may be eaten very simply and economically with fresh tomato sauce.
But pasta can sit rather heavy as the digestive system works to process the carbohydrate load. Suddenly, the urge to take a nap is overwhelming, which of course is not a bad thing - especially if it’s in a hammock under one or two large shady trees. And even Italians (mostly northern Italians) sometimes complain about eating too much pasta. A famous northern Italian poet, Marinetti, once wrote, “Pasta, however grateful to the palate, is an obsolete food; it is heavy, brutalizing and gross; its nutritive qualities are deceptive; it induces skepticism, sloth and pessimism.”
I prefer the kinder viewpoint of the southern Italians when it comes to pasta. Circumstances do change, so it is imperative to adjust the ingredients to reflect this fact. And when the weather is hot – sometimes scorching hot – understanding how to create a pasta dish that appears light on the palate is important to those who like eating pasta. If this is you, then it might be time to turn to lemon, chili peppers and garlic.
Lemon, of course, is full of acid…and acids enjoy neutralizing the sensation of fats in the mouth. Think about dishwashing soap for a second. Many products contain lemon or some kind of citrus. Why? Because the acids contained in citrus cut through fats that often stubbornly cling to plates, glasses and silverware. In other words, the acids neutralize the fats. But just to be clear, acids do not get rid of fat in the food we eat; they simply neutralize the fatty sensation in our mouth. One little experiment I used to teach years ago to aspiring cooks is to taste something very fatty. I had students taste a spoon of heavy cream (yuck!). All agreed, their mouth was coated with an unpleasant sensation of fat. The students tasted another spoon of that cream but this time with lemon juice added. Suddenly, the sensation of fat coating their mouth disappeared and the spoonful of fat plus lemon juice tasted rather light. Of course, the fat didn’t disappear but the sensation of fat did…and that is important when eating a plate of pasta on a hot summer day.
Chili peppers are equally interesting. There is a lot of information populating various sites on the internet that talk about the ‘cooling effect’ chili peppers have on the body. The overwhelming conclusion is simple but counterintuitive. Eating chili peppers causes the body to sweat because it supposedly raises internal temperatures. The sweat evaporates and that sensation is cooling. Personally, I haven’t found any scientific evidence to back this claim after researching it for about 15 minutes. But I do know cultures in the hottest locations on earth tend to favor hot and spicy foods. So, I will go with that unscientific population study and couple it with my own knowledge as a chef – hot and spicy chili peppers are best paired with dense foods that are acidic and fruity. This pairing won’t take away the burn but it will make the taste experience fruitier with less burn sensations on the palate.
Garlic, as far as I can determine, has no obvious cooling effect on food. In fact, for those who follow Ayurvedic rules, garlic is considered a food that induces warmth. So, why am I including garlic in my suggestions for making summer pasta dishes? Simple. Garlic pairs well with lemon and chili peppers and tastes fantastic if it is not overdone…and that’s enough for me.
It is always going to be challenging to eat a big plate of pasta on a hot summer day. Some may choose to do this while on holiday, then find a bed or hammock to nap in for a few hours. That’s cool. Others may elect to eat smaller portions, recognizing the effect digesting a carbohydrate-rich plate of food has on their body; an overworked digestive system requires a lot of energy, and energy creates a lot of heat. That’s also cool. As for me…well, I choose to create a light sensation in my mouth that’s filled with contrasting flavors and tastes good. I will let my body deal with the consequences after devouring a delicious plate of pasta. And for me…that’s definitely cool!
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Creamy Lemon-Garlic Rigatoni
This deliciously creamy pasta dish relies on an unusual ingredient to obtain its structure: cooked cannellini beans.
Think of it as a garlicky white bean puree on toast with a few tomatoes – a perfectly fine crostini. In fact, that’s exactly how I came up with the idea of using pureed beans, thinned with lemon juice, water and garlic puree to dress a pasta dish.
The result is a creamy sauce punctuated with spicy notes of garlic and chili pepper, then lightened and balanced with a good hit of lemon. And in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that kind of meal!