Sun-Dried Tomato Linguine

I found the program at Concordia University Chicago in early July. Master of Science in Special Education, fully online, can be completed in two years while working. Twelve courses. Clinical practice hours through the school I already work in. Cost: manageable, not easy but manageable, with the teacher tuition reimbursement from Chicago Public Schools factored in.

I have read the program description four times. I have looked at the course list twice. I have not told Ryan yet because I am still in the reading-around-the-edges phase and telling Ryan will make it real in a specific way that I am not ready for until I am ready for it. I am almost ready. I can feel the almost.

In the meantime: summer. The twins and I go to the park every morning before the heat peaks. We come home and eat lunch and the twins nap and I read or cook or sit in the quiet apartment and do the thing that being a teacher requires in summer, which is to recover enough to go back. The recovery takes different forms: the farmers market, the park, the slow cooker running when it is too hot to cook actively. Patty takes them one morning a week so I can have a few hours alone, which I use in different ways depending on the week. Last week I cleaned the kitchen cabinets. The week before I sat on the couch for three hours and did nothing at all. Both of these are recovery.

The tomatoes are peaking at the market. I bought two pounds of heirlooms on Saturday and have been eating them every day in the simplest preparation possible: sliced, salt, olive oil, maybe a torn basil leaf, nothing more. There is no improvement to be made to a ripe August tomato. The improvement is to leave it alone. This is the principle I try to apply to cooking generally and to children and to Ryan and to most things: leave the good thing alone to be itself. It already knows what it is.

The same week I bought those heirlooms at the market, I found myself thinking about what you do when tomatoes are so good they barely need you — and also about what you do when summer is running out and you want to hold onto it a little longer. Sun-dried tomatoes felt like the answer to both: concentrated, unhurried, a way of carrying August into a weeknight dinner after the farmers market stands are gone. This linguine came together on one of the twins’ nap afternoons, the kind of quiet hour I’ve learned to use for things that ask very little of me while still feeling like enough.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

12 oz linguine
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced (reserve 2 tbsp oil)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook linguine according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
Sauté the aromatics. While the pasta cooks, heat the reserved sun-dried tomato oil and the extra-virgin olive oil together in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute until fragrant but not browned.
Add the tomatoes and wine. Stir in the sliced sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and let it simmer for 3–4 minutes until reduced by half, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
Bring it together. Add the drained linguine to the skillet along with 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss well over medium-low heat, adding more pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce coats the pasta smoothly. Season with salt and black pepper.
Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from heat and toss in the Parmesan until melted and creamy. Scatter torn basil over the top. Divide among bowls and serve immediately with extra Parmesan alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sun-Dried Tomato Linguine — When August Tomatoes Tell You to Leave Them Alone