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Italian Summer Garden Spaghetti w/Zucchini & Fresh Tomato Sauce (A Favorite Summer Pasta)


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 Adult Servings
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Deliciously sweet fresh garden tomatoes and firm, just-ripened zucchini make a seriously delicious (and healthy) pasta. So much so, that we ate a version of this pasta 4 times this past week. It’s delicious. We’ve used whole wheat pasta for less refined carbs and just two teaspoons of EVOO for two adult servings to keep it super “summer healthy”, but feel free to use your favorite pasta and increase the olive oil to a full tablespoon. Double this recipe to serve 4.


Ingredients

  • 5 1/2 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti pasta (or your favorite pasta) (160g)
  • 2 medium to large homegrown Italian tomatoes, washed (or other garden-fresh variety)*
  • 2 small or 1 large zucchini, washed and sliced, diced, or chopped
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (or up to 1 tablespoon) (10g)
  • 1 medium garlic clove, smashed
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • salt to taste


Instructions

  1. Remove the skins from the tomatoes. Score the tomatoes and drop them into boiling water and allow them to blanch for a minute or two, or just until the skin starts to curl away from the flesh. Remove the tomatoes to a bowl and when cool enough, remove the skins (and save for vegetable stock, or discard). Coarsely chop or squeeze the cooled tomatoes with your hands to gently crush them. Set aside. 
  2. Sauté the garlic and shallots. Add the olive oil, garlic, and shallots to a medium-sized skillet and sauté over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and blistered and the shallots are just starting to turn golden brown.
  3. Sauté the zucchini. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the sliced zucchini and sauté until golden brown tossing everything occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. 
  4. Add the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, season with salt to taste, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook for about 7 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and slightly reduced. Remove the lid and continue cooking over medium to medium-high heat stirring occasionally to allow the sauce to reduce even further while you boil the pasta. Turn off the heat when your sauce has thickened and most of the liquid is gone. The sauce should be a bit shiny at this point (see step-by-step photos). 
  5. Cook the pasta. Add the pasta to boiling salted water and cook to al dente or desired doneness. Two or 3 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, turn the heat back on the skillet with the sauce, remove about 1/4 cup of starchy pasta cooking water and add it directly to the sauce and stir to combine. Cook just until the sauce turns glossy and has absorbed the starchy water. Adjust seasonings if necessary, strain the pasta noodles and add them directly to the sauce and toss quickly to coat the noodles, serve immediately with grated cheese if desired, Enjoy!

Notes

  • Use any fresh tomato variety you have available whether from your garden or your local farmer’s market. The variety of tomatoes you use will determine the flavor of your finished sauce. See the main post for a few of our favorite varieties to use. Basically, any tomato with lower acidity, few seeds, and lots of pulp will give you the best fresh pasta sauce. 
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
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