Zucchini and summer squash are staple vegetables in my kitchen from June through August. I get them in giant bagfuls from my CSA, and I am always looking for ways to incorporate them into dinner beyond simple side dishes that my daughter won’t touch. While I’m not above “hiding” zucchini in tomato sauce or macaroni and cheese, turning the vegetables into pasta sauce has been a great success.
All you need to do is get the zucchini into tiny pieces and give it enough time to cook. The tiny pieces part is easy — instead of slicing and dicing, pull out a box grater. The large holes on a grater get the zucchini small enough that it’ll melt into a thick sauce after about 15 minutes of cooking. This, plus a small diced onion (you can chop the onion by hand or start with frozen), is just about all you need to coat a pound of al dente bucatini.
To complete the zucchini’s transformation, stir in a bit of pasta cooking water to loosen up the vegetables and allow the sauce to cling to the pasta. I do this step over relatively high heat so that the water will simmer and emulsify into the olive oil used to cook the zucchini. A squeeze of lemon adds a bit of zip to the sauce and a grating of quality Parmesan cheese brings a final touch of umami.
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