Spaghetti with Pesto, Zucchini, and Just Burst Tomatoes

J U L Y

Tomatoes.  Summer.  Basil.  Zucchini.

This is the time folks, this is the time to throw together a most excellent dinner with neither fuss nor planning.  Summer is for adventuring and swimming and walking barefoot and drinking delightful cocktails and sweating gracefully and it is not for slaving away in the kitchen.  Which is exactly how I stumbled upon this amazing new pasta dish.

Over plenty of early-evening wine, a friend and I discussed the merits of summer squash.  She is a farmer and an excellent cook and has the most gorgeous of produce, summer squash included.  However, despite its eccentric shapes and sizes, stripes and speckles, neither of us are that jazzed on it as something worth eating.  We revisited the most common preparations - roasted, grilled, squash "pasta", soups.  Their water content is very high, sogginess is expected.  Soggy is never good.

We both agreed that the best way to prepare summer squash, specifically zucchini, is to grate it and then saute with garlic, lemon juice, salt and plenty of black pepper.  Now it is a totally new vegetable - savory and juicy and versatile and disappears by the forkful.  After our conversation, I craved my sauteed zucchini and scored a few beauties at the farmers market.  It became the focus of the meal when mixed with just burst cherry tomatoes and pesto, then all tossed with spaghetti.  Finished with fresh basil and parmesan, this is my new favorite summertime pasta. 

SPAGHETTI with PESTO, ZUCCHINI, and JUST BURST TOMATOES
serves 2

1/2 pound dried spaghetti (I used whole wheat because I like it, but do as you will)
2 medium zucchini, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 pint cherry tomatoes
classic basil pesto
basil
parmesan

Heat your oven to 420 degrees. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook your spaghetti.  Reserve about a cup of pasta water. 

When pasta is cooked and still warm, toss with a few heaping spoonfuls of pesto until all of the pasta is coated.  Add a spoonful or two of pasta water to loosen the sauce (if necessary).

Meanwhile, toss the cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil and salt.  Spread on a tray and roast in oven until they just begin to burst - about ten minutes. 

Heat a little oil in a skillet and add the grated zucchini.  When starting to soften, add the garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.  Continue to cook until the zucchini is soft and the liquid has almost completely evaporated.  

Toss the cooked zucchini, burst tomatoes, and fresh basil with the pesto pasta.  At this point if you wanted to add a bucket of parmesan cheese, I wouldn't stop you, but I opted to keep mine a little fresher.  Mix everything together to incorporate all of the ingredients.  Serve immediately, topped with more basil and grated parmesan.  


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BASIL PESTO

2 healthy bunches basil
1 - 2 garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
salt

Combine the first five ingredients in a food processor and blend until a thick paste has formed.  While on, drizzle in the olive oil until you've reached the desired consistency.  More olive oil will make for a better dressing for pasta.  Adjust seasoning if needed.