Giada De Laurentiis’ Checca Pasta Sauce Doesn’t Require Any Cooking & the Main Ingredients Are Found in Your Garden
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When the weather is hot and sticky, the last thing you want to do is stand in front of a stove to cook a homemade pasta sauce (even if you’re craving pasta!). Luckily, you don’t have to! Giada De Laurentiis shared her favorite no-cook sauce recipe that is made with things you might be able to find in your very own garden. It’s loaded with fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic, and packs a punch without ever needing to touch a sauté pan.
“What I’m making this holiday weekend… checca!” De Laurentiis captioned an Instagram post during the Fourth of July weekend. “It’s harder to pronounce than it is to make.”
Checca starts with a base of freshly chopped tomatoes (and a lot of them!). You can use whatever tomatoes you have growing in your garden, but De Laurentiis recommends cherry tomatoes because they’re both sweet and a bit tangy. Next comes a bunch of basil, also roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces. You can also make checca in the food processor, but chopping all your ingredients by hand is just as easy!
Add in freshly chopped garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a good helping of parmesan cheese. Let the sauce sit while you cook your pasta. You can use any shape you have on hand!
Toss your cooked pasta with the checca sauce and add a bit of pasta water to loosen the sauce, if needed. You can add mozzarella pearls or enjoy it as is with a crisp glass of white wine. How delicious does that sound?
Because this is such a simple recipe, you can tweak it with things you have in your pantry or refrigerator. You could add a few chopped capers to make the sauce a bit more brinier, some lemon for a touch of zest, or add in more veggies like chopped red peppers or spinach to turn this pasta dish into an Italian-inspired pasta salad.
It’s the ultimate summer pasta dish that comes together in just a few minutes. Grab the full recipe for De Laurentiis’ checca here. Once you make it once, you’ll crave it for the rest of the summer.
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