Arugula Pasta with Salsa Cruda

When the produce is fresh and locally grown, fabulous food comes together easily and fast. This summer pasta with a salsa cruda — a simple, no-cook sauce — makes the most of fresh summer tomatoes and peppery arugula. Recipe and photo contributed by Ellen Kanner.

Serves: 4

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 jalapeño or other chili
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti or angel hair pasta
• 3 cups arugula leaves, washed and stemmed,
  coarsely chopped if large
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Crush garlic and jalapeño together until they become a coarse paste. Spoon into a medium-sized bowl. Add lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil.

Peel tomatoes by bringing water to boil in a medium pot. Remove from heat, add tomatoes and let them sit for a couple minutes. Remove tomatoes from water. Let them cool enough so you can handle them. Gently pierce them with the point of a knife.  Their skins should slip right off.

Dice tomatoes small. Add tomatoes and all their juice to the garlic, chili and lemon mixture. Stir together and add a pinch of sea salt.

Make pasta according to directions and cook until just tender. Remove from heat. Drain well, then return pasta to pot.

Toss with sauce. Add arugula, a handful at a time, tossing lightly until the greens just start to wilt, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Season to taste with additional sea salt and pepper and serve at once.

• Here are more lighter seasonal vegan pasta recipes.

Ellen Kanner is the Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger, the syndicated columnist The Edgy Veggie, and contributor  to publications including Culinate, Bon Appetit, and Every Day With Rachael Ray as  well as her own blog.