Cold pasta is one of the dishes we most love to eat when the summer turns all our desires upside down. We have to freshen up, leave a place for ice cream and avoid spending hours in the kitchen between boiling stoves. All these needs were alive even a few decades ago, when to bring a nice plate of cold pasta to the table meant eat something simple. It's really good.
A dish that deserved some care, which brought with it a pinch of pride and was not downgraded to an emergency recipe. "I made the cold pasta" was a declaration of intent, culinary, and love towards all the guests.

Do we prepare it too?

The ingredients

tomatoes g 350 – short pasta, ditalini, g 300 – zucchini g 300 – mozzarella g 150 – 2 red peppers – a fresh, spicy chilli pepper – basil – garlic – 4 salted anchovies – lettuce – extra virgin olive oil – salt – white pepper in grains

How to make the 1990s flan

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Vegetables: Slice the zucchini lengthwise, season with salt, oil and pass them on the hot grill. Roast the peppers on the grill, peel them and remove the seeds. Blanch the tomatoes, peel them, empty them of the seeds, reduce them into cubes, collect them in a bowl, season them with a drizzle of oil, a mixture of garlic, basil, fresh chilli and let them marinate.

The pasta: Meanwhile boil the pasta al dente. While it is cooking, oil a ring mold (21 cm) with oil and cover it completely with slices of courgette alternating with bell peppers. Drain the pasta, collect it in a bowl and season with the marinated tomato, a pinch of salt and the boned anchovies, rinsed well from the salt then chopped.

The stamp: Pour two thirds of the dough into the mold, arranging it in layers alternated with slices of mozzarella. Complete the mold with a final layer of dough, then press it all together to make it compact and finally pass the mold in the refrigerator for a few hours before turning it into a serving dish. Fill the center of the pie with the pasta kept aside (about a third), then garnish with a sprig of fresh basil, leaflets of lettuce, a trickle of raw extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground pepper and serve.

Did you like it? Then you can't do without our collection. In the gallery above, 50 cold pastas not to be missed!