Serves 6
Notes
In the summer, I grow many varieties of sweet cherry tomatoes, so they ripen at slightly different times, ensuring daily tomatoes for many weeks. Yellow tomatoes have slightly less acidity than red ones, which makes this uncooked sauce extra sweet. You can absolutely substitute red if you don’t have yellow, though. As an added bonus, I toss finely diced zucchini into this sauce, and the heat of the pasta cooks it just enough to soften it without making it mushy.
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 pint ripe yellow cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
- 1 garlic clove, crushed and peeled
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Peperoncino flakes
- 2 small zucchini, cut into small dice (about 10 ounces)
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Put the cherry tomatoes, walnuts, basil, parsley, mint, and garlic in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse to make a chunky paste. With the machine running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream to make an almost smooth pesto. Season with salt and a big pinch of peperoncino. Scrape into a large serving bowl. Add the diced zucchini.
Meanwhile, add the spaghetti to the boiling water. When the pasta is al dente, remove it with tongs to the serving bowl with the sauce. Sprinkle with the grated cheese. Season with salt, if needed. Toss, adding up to 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water if it seems dry, to coat the pasta with the sauce, and serve.
