Pasta Fredda with Smoked Trout

Name: Pasta Fredda (Summer Pasta) with Smoked Trout
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500 g cavatelli or other short pasta (1 lb 2 oz); Cooking salt, for pasta water; 200 g cherry tomatoes, quartered (7 oz); 1 Lebanese cucumber, quartered and sliced; 1/2 red onion, very finely diced; 8 large green olives, pitted and finely diced; 2 tablespoons large salted capers, rinsed and dried; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (125 ml); 4 hot-smoked rainbow trout fillets, at room temperature (optional); Salt flakes, to taste

My Italian friends would insist that pasta fredda, also called ‘summer pasta’, is not a pasta salad (not even a warm pasta salad) but a delicious dish of freshly cooked pasta tossed with a sauce of fresh summer vegetables at room temperature. The name literally means ‘cold pasta’, though it’s only the sauce that’s cold, it’s important the pasta is freshly cooked and tossed immediately with the sauce. It’s also important that the sauce ingredients (and trout if you’re using it) are at room temperature before you cook the pasta, so they don’t cool it down too much when they’re combined. Summer pasta sauce is very versatile, so take my list of ingredients (and quantities) as a starting point and adjust it to suit your mood. The trout is optional, vegetarian pasta fredda is just as delicious, and any soft herbs – especially basil, parsley, chives and oregano – make a great addition. Add some finely sliced celery heart, green onion or chilli, or finely shredded radicchio too if you like. Leftover summer pasta does make a great pasta salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g cavatelli or other short pasta (1lb 2oz)
Cooking salt, for pasta water
200g cherry tomatoes, quartered (7oz)
1 Lebanese cucumber, quartered and sliced
½ red onion, very finely diced
8 large green olives, pitted and finely diced
2 tablespoons large salted capers, rinsed and dried
½ cup extra virgin olive oil (125ml)
4 x hot-smoked rainbow trout fillets, at room temperature (optional)
Salt flakes, to taste

Method

Cook pasta in plenty of well-salted boiling water until just al dente, using 10g salt/litre water (⅓oz salt/2 pints water).
Meanwhile, combine tomato, cucumber, onion, olive, capers and oil in a large mixing bowl.
If using the trout, place a fillet in the base of each of 4 shallow pasta bowls, breaking it in half if necessary.
Drain cooked pasta and add it immediately to the mixing bowl.
Mix to combine very well.
Taste and add salt if needed.
Serve pasta fredda on top of the trout and serve immediately, asking diners to mix it through as they eat the pasta.