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!

Food: Summer Pasta

Here in Michigan, it's almost peak vegetable season. So we all know what that means...you can find fresh everything at the store and farmers' markets! A few weekends ago I threw together this pasta for a quick Friday night meal. It's super easy and simple - and would adapt really well to what every veggie you find at the store this week - zucchini, wax beans, etc. Just make sure to include the tomatoes and lemon since that's what helps create the "sauce."

Summer Pasta

MM

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Finely Grated Zest from one lemon
• Juice from one lemon
• 4 shakes of crushed red pepper
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, snapped into 1" pieces
• 1/2 t salt
• 10 oz grape tomatoes (i.e. one package)
• 4 oz mushrooms (I used a package of pre-sliced, mixed variety)
• 1 T chives, chopped
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 16 oz Pasta (I used Gia Rusa Whole Wheat Roman Rigatoni)
• 3 oz, crumbled Feta Cheese

Directions

• In a medium-sized, deep saucepan, heat oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes -or- until you can start to smell its aroma. Add lemon zest and crushed red pepper and heat for another 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and tomatoes and increase heat to medium-high.
• After cooking for ~15 minutes, tomatoes should be tender enough to crush. Smash tomatoes with back of spoon (be careful when doing this so you don't splatter yourself - or the walls!), add lemon juice, asparagus, pepper, salt. Heat for another 5 minutes or so until asparagus is cooked yet still firm.
• Meanwhile, heat generously salted water in a large pot on high heat. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Cook for 10 minutes (or until al dente - according to pasta instructions). Drain pasta. Pour "sauce" over pasta, add feta cheese, toss to coat.
• Garnish with fresh chives.