Food: Zucchini Pesto

OK...I know I'm hugely guilty of not posting things in over A MONTH. But did I mention my little sister was getting married? The wedding was actually this past weekend...and it was beautiful and fun and EXHAUSTING :) So now that I've had a little recovery time, I'm back in the game for sharing more recipes with you.

Farmers Markets are in full swing now. And it couldn't be better that one of my favorite veggies (zucchini) is in abundance (along with other wonderful summertime produce). So in case you still have a bunch of it in your fridge right now, or a craving for a wonderful summer dish, here's a quick and easy pasta recipe that uses a couple of zucchini as the base for a fresh, pesto-style sauce.

Also, if you happened to make my Sugo-stype caramelized onions in bulk and froze some, these work perfectly in this dish. If you don't have any, though never fear. You can caramelize some in the skillet using a quicker-cooking method. If you don't know how to do this, drop me a note and I'll post some instructions.

Zucchini Hazelnut Pesto with Bowties

Adapted from Bon Appetit, Oct 2009

Ingredients

• 1 small zucchini (~2 cups shredded)
• 2/3 c toasted hazelnuts
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 T finely grated lemon peel
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 c plus 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 t truffle salt
• A handful of fresh green beans, stemmed and snapped in half
• 1 14.5 oz box of bow tie pasta
• 1/3 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Caramelized onions

Directions

• Fill a pot with enough water to cook one box of pasta, salt generously, and bring to a boil. Cook pasta per directions.
• When pasta is al dente, reserve 1 c of cooking liquid. Then drain, return to cooking pot, toss with 1T olive oil, and set aside.
• In a food processor, combine zucchini, hazelnuts, lemon juice, truffle salt, and garlic. Slowly add olive oil in a steady stream until the mixture resembles a thick, green sauce.
• In a small pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water, heat to medium, and steam green beans a few minutes until cooked but slightly crispy.
• Toss bowties with "pesto" and green beans. Top with caramelized onions and freshly grated parmesan and serve!