Pasta con Zucchini

Aug 14th, 2010 // Dinner, Healthy, Recipes

My parents are still visiting and they are helping us eat our way through my friend Jaime’s Garden Bounty. Since my dad was here to snap some pix, you are getting a rare glimpse of me actually cooking with my kid!

Here we are grating. It’s a lot less nerve wracking when we are doing it together.

These are cubes of basil and garlic that are available in the freezer section at Trader Joe’s. I like them because they’re convenient, my kid likes them because they are fun to pop out.

While we were prepping the food, my kid kept putting his new hat on the baby (already 4 mos old!) and laughing like a maniac. The baby didn’t seem to mind too much.

Believe it or not, this is not the last of the zucchini! Luckily, the repeated use of this abundant garden veggie is helping my kid get acclimated to it. He only ate one of our Zucchini Fritters, but he ate an entire bowl of this! Now for the recipe…

Pasta con Zucchini Recipe

Prep Time: 10 mins  Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:
1 extra large zucchini or 2 medium (grated)
3 cloves garlic
3 teaspoons chopped basil
zest of 1 large lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound multi grain or whole wheat angel hair pasta
red pepper flakes for sprinkling
salt & fresh ground pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add the garlic, lemon zest and basil. Cook for about 3 minutes. Put your grated zucchini in a colander and squeeze out some of the moisture then add it to the skillet. Turn heat down to medium low and continue to saute the veggies. When the water is boiling, cook the pasta for exactly 6 minutes. Do not drain. Instead, use tongs to transfer cooked pasta into the skillet with the zucchini. When you transfer the pasta, some of the water will transfer with the pasta. You want this to happen! Use the tongs to toss the pasta with the zucchini and cook for another few minutes until it is all combined. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Feeds 6.

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13 Comments on “Pasta con Zucchini”

  1. 1 Macki said at 10:32 pm on August 14th, 2010:

    Holy cuteness! What a beautiful family!

  2. 2 jacquelinelegan said at 1:16 am on August 16th, 2010:

    I just had to say those are the cutest photos I have ever seen!!! and the meal looks delicious to boot!

  3. 3 pinellas said at 6:03 am on August 16th, 2010:

    Yum! Looks delish & fun = )

  4. 4 Dana said at 7:54 am on August 16th, 2010:

    Your family is beautiful! And so is that pasta – YUM!

  5. 5 Leslie said at 12:46 pm on August 16th, 2010:

    so cute! glad we got to see almost ALL of the family on the blog!

  6. 6 Kali said at 3:35 pm on August 16th, 2010:

    My son, Jackson age 5, and I made this and couldn't eat enough of it!! We added steamed chicken and a little bit of mozzarella cheese.

  7. 7 CookingWithMyKid said at 5:26 pm on August 16th, 2010:

    So glad you liked it. Sometimes I add Parmesan. Mmmm!

  8. 8 Jen said at 10:27 am on August 18th, 2010:

    Just wanted to let you know that we tried this recipe last night and my kids loved it! They couldn't get enough and requested leftovers for breakfast. Did a brief write-up on my blog here: http://dinoiafamily.typepad.com/the_dinoia_family...

    Thanks so much for the idea!

  9. 9 Geni said at 11:58 am on August 20th, 2010:

    Love your blog. Beautiful shots of the beautiful kids! :) …and the pasta looks equally yummy.

  10. 10 CookingWithMyKid said at 1:46 am on August 21st, 2010:

    thanks for adding the badge to your blog! i hope your husband gets back soon so he can try all the great stuff you are cooking up!

  11. 11 CookingWithMyKid said at 1:47 am on August 21st, 2010:

    what a cute family you have! thanks for the blog love.

  12. 12 Phyllis said at 6:12 pm on August 22nd, 2010:

    We tried this recipe tonight and LOVED it! Yum!

  13. 13 Dinetonite said at 3:18 pm on November 24th, 2010:

    Sounds great, thanks for sharing. Have you ever tried adding fresh lovage to the soup right at the end of cooking? I discovered this wonderful herb last summer

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