Torchietti salad with tomatoes, courgettes and pine nuts

I imagine that you too lose the desire to cook in the summer! ;P

As you know, I love cooking, but in the summer I love the light and the sun and prefer being outdoors. Plus, it's hot, and on some days the most I can tolerate is turning on the stove for no more than half an hour, so I concentrate what I need to prepare for the day or even the next day in that one moment.

However, even if we don't feel like cooking, let's not forget good habits and don't miss out on healthy, nutritious, and lovingly cooked food. ;) Even though we prefer fresh foods in the summer, we can't just eat salads! For a balanced diet and to get the nutrients we need, we need to vary our cooking styles, so vegetables should be eaten both cooked and raw. Vegetables should never be missing from our meals; in fact, they should fill about half our plate. They are truly strategic foods, especially during this time of year because they're rich in minerals and vitamins, light, easy to digest, provide fiber and satiation without weighing us down, and are quick to prepare.

A practical way to eat a good portion of cooked vegetables, also easy to enjoy on the go, is to cook them together with a first course, be it a grain like spelt, quinoa or rice or a pasta, preferably wholemeal or made with ancient grains.

Today I opted for Senatore Cappelli Whole Wheat Torchietti, topped with a variety of julienned seasonal vegetables—carrots, zucchini, onion, cherry tomatoes, and capers—garnished with toasted pine nuts and a basil leaf! They're also delicious cold, perhaps at the beach if you're already on vacation! I made them on the spot this morning for my husband to take to the office. I finished his lunch with raw fennel and a peach.

I love recipes like this because they take just as long to prepare as the pasta itself—from putting the pot on the stove to draining it… 15 minutes in total! And the result is a tasty, colorful dish with lots of vegetables!

All that's left for me to do is wish you... Happy summer lunch!

• 140g Wholemeal Senatore Cappelli Torchietti
• 1 light green or trumpet-type courgette
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 onion (I used the yellow one)
• 10 cherry or pachino tomatoes or date tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of desalted capers
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt me
• Toasted pine nuts

Rinse the capers from the salt and soak them in water, changing the water every so often.

Sauté the vegetables separately in extra virgin olive oil and water for a few minutes, then season with salt. The vegetables should soften but remain crunchy. (Photos 2, 3, and 4)

Set aside on a plate (Photo_5)

Finally, sauté the cherry tomatoes, cut into four parts, with the capers chopped with a knife (do not add salt) (photo_6)

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the cherry tomatoes (Photo_7)

… Bon Appetit! <3