I feel like I have been beating the simplicity theme into the ground the past few weeks, but the fact of the matter is, this is how I cook in the summer. There are so many great seasonal ingredients that I look forward to all year, and I want to put them front and center in the dishes I eat. Plus, it’s too hot to cook anything too complicated or involved.
Zucchini and yellow squash are two of these ingredients that I look forward to so much. Sure you can get them all year round in the supermarket, but they are so much better when they are from your own garden or a local farm. This recipe comes from my Aunt Maria who is an awesome cook.
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Pasta with Summer Squash Recipe
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound farfalle, penne or fusilli pasta
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound small squash such as zucchini or yellow squash, sliced thinly
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
- 4 large basil leaves, washed, patted dry and chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook uncovered over high heat.
- While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the squash, red pepper and salt. Cook stirring occasionally until squash is starting to soften about 8 minutes.
- When pasta is cooked to just under al dente reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Add the pasta, Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese, half of the chopped basil and the reserved cooking water to the pan with the squash, and stir together over the heat until well combined.
- Transfer the pasta to serving plates. Sprinkle with remaining basil and serve.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
11 Responses
That looks fabulous! I love summer squash and especially love it when it is in a pasta. Always goes so nicely. Since I am a texture person I always love the contract in texture that it brings to a pasta dish.
Thanks! It looks delicious!
this was a great dish!! the family loved it!
Well I am not quite in Italy but in only a few weeks I will be there on my autumn holidays. In the meantime this lovely pasta dish is a perfect reminder and, as you say, perfect for hot summer days.
Thanks.
I have just cooked this recipe for my family, we all loved it, even my kids!!! Such a simple yet brilliant recipe. Thank you.
I love this type of simple yet delicious recipe. M ywife and I love Italian food and we love to find new recipes. Thank you for a great website and some great information.
This is a great recipe for anyone on a weight reduction eating program. The olive oil is a great mono-unsaturate and the squash tasty ,filling and packed full of vitamins and minerals. We all think that Italian food has to be fattening and “naughty” but recipes like this one disprove that theory! Well done!
Diane Gray is right. Olive oil has long been recognized for its unusual fat content. And we are all fortunate that it is available throughout the year to satisfy taste buds and promote good health.
Regards,
Barbara
The ingredients list shows Basil, but the directions say Parsley. Can you clarify? I hope to make this next week!
Should be basil everywhere. The parsley was a typo. I have fixed it. Thanks for pointing out the error!
I’ve been making this dish for a long time but I use tarragon I stead of basil. I just like the flavor better.