Simple end-of-summer pasta and self-dressing salad make dinner fast and fresh

Chef and cookbook author Ashton Keefe is in the TODAY kitchen preparing a few of her favorite recipes that make the most of end-of-summer produce.

She shows us how to make a fresh fennel salad with pistachios and pecorino cheese and quick and easy pasta with tomatoes and sausage.

"What's impressive about this — and all Italian cooking — is that it's simpler than ordering takeout," says Keefe. Use spicy sausage and pantry staples like dried pasta and canned tomatoes to take your weeknight dinner to a whole new level."

"This five-ingredient salad tastes like you spent big money on it at a restaurant. It's so easy to assemble you won't even believe it; plus, it dresses itself as you serve it."

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