Easy Summertime Zucchini Pasta: A Recipe

Summertime zucchini abundance in our garden means creative cooking challenges. Pastas for lunchtime now often include zucchini, in one way or another. I came up with this easy recipe today: so easy that you can cook the sauce while the pasta water is boiling!

Ingredients:

• 1 small-to-medium sized zucchini per person (big ones will not do – avoid any with seeds in them)
• 1 bunch zucchini flowers, if you can get them
• 1 scallion or half a small onion and a generous handful of fresh chives (the combination I used in my sauce)
• 2 medium-sized very ripe tomatoes (cut in half, seeds taken out)
• extra-virgin olive oil, Q.B. (“quanto basta” or “as much as you need”)
• salt, Q.B.
• chives Q.B.
• basili Q.B.
• grated Parmesan cheese, Q.B.
• 1 chili pepper, cut into small pieces, seeds eliminated

 
Put the pasta water on to boil in large pot. Salt it. Slice the zucchini into thin rounds.
Cover bottom of medium-sized stainless steel frying pan with olive oil. Heat slightly, then add chili pepper tidbits, scallion or onion and chives, heating til golden. Add zucchini and simmer. Dice ripe seeded tomatoes into small pieces. Finely chop zucchini flowers and finely dice basil (I use my beloved “mezzaluna” or “half-moon” for the basil, given to Pino by an elderly woman in the early 1970”s!)

Simmer the zucchini in diced scallion and/or diced onion and chives

Add finely-diced ripe tomatoes, seeds eliminated

Add chopped riped tomatoes to the simmering zucchini

Dice zucchini flowers

Finely-dice the fresh basil

When zucchini are a bit tender but not soft, add diced tomatoes and basil and simmer a few minutes.

Wnen zucchini tender and tomatoes beginning to soften, add fresh basil, diced

..and this pasta sauce is ready in the time it takes to boil the pasta water!

Add zucchini flowers and simmer just a few minutes til tender.

Add zucchini flowers

Simmer briefly until zucchini flowers tender

Mix zucchini sauce into rigatoni or penne pasta. Add grated Parmesan cheese. Hint: when draining pasta, always save the water, i.e., il brodo so that you can add a touch to the pasta to make creamier, if needed. For this pasta, you can also add a touch of olive oil to make creamier.

Serve with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese

Our family enjoyed it…right to the last bite. Hope you do, too. Buon appetito!

Keegan, about to finish it up

…and now, time to wash the pasta bowl…

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Click here for another summer favorite pasta dish
Read here about not cooking when hot!
Click here for another summer favorite
Click here for a fresh tomato sauce recipe, using the mezzaluna