“Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes!”
Author unknown
With cooler nights and shorter days upon us, I’m trying to hang on to summer as long as possible in the kitchen. This salad showcases luscious, organically grown tomatoes from my neighbor Marty’s amazing garden which I am invited to raid at leisure. Great tomatoes are readily available at local farmers’ markets if you don’t have your own garden-grown source.
The beauty of this salad is that it is minimally cooked, assembled in no time at all and packs a big punch of flavor from pesto. A whole meal in a bowl bursting with summer tomatoes? Love!
MEDITERRANEAN BOW TIE PASTA with GRILLED TUNA DINNER SALAD
Ingredients:
10 oz of bow tie pasta, cooked al dente as per package instructions, I used black and white bowties for their striking appearance and larger size. Regular bowties are fine.
1/3 c of pesto; good commercial varieties are available at Costco or Trader Joe’s; homemade is best
4 c of fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped in 1 inch chunks
1/4 c Nonpareille capers
14 Kalamata olives, halved
4 c arugula leaves
1 lb Albacore tuna fillets
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1/4c grated parmesan cheese
Method:
1- In a bowl, toss the tomatoes, capers, olives and arugula together. Reserve.
2- Drain the pasta and coat with the pesto in the cooking pot. Reserve and keep warm.
3- Season tuna with salt and pepper. On an oiled, medium hot grill, cook for 1 minute on each side for a rare temperature; 2 minutes for well done. Remove from heat and slice on the diagonal into bite-size chunks. Toss with the lemon juice and zest.
ASSEMBLY:
On a large rimmed platter toss the tomato mixture with the warm pasta. Add the seasoned tuna and gently toss. Enjoy at room temperature. Garden fresh tomatoes in an end-of-summer meal salad: simply delicious!


Never had this kind of farfalle pasta before, sure i’m gonna check it on amazone…
i love the way you prepare protein, veggies and carbs in one dish,
btw, i had a question for you, i had a periodontitis apicalis patient with class 1 mobility , i’ve done several canal treatment with CaOH, the canal is sterile and filled with gutapercha, the teeth 31 teeth then splinted with direct composite, the 6 months follow up clinical appearance is good and asymptomatic, already did root planning but the alveolar bone didn’t change much from the Rx,should i refer the patient to periodontist ???
Can you email a copy of the radiograph? What are the pocket measurements around the tooth? Is there any occlusal trauma that could be causing the mobility? How old is the patient? Medical history? Is there any furcal bone loss? My personal email is frenchgardener@comcast.net and is probably better for dental questions. :))
Sent from my iPad
>
The striped zebra pasta looks so striking when served! People always are surprised by it but love it.