Creamy Zucchini Pasta

I wandered out to the garden last night right as the sun was tucking itself behind Mt. Adams. The dogs were at my feet, peacefully lounging in the shade. I could hear happy yelling coming from the patio as a couple of the kids were setting up hammocks to lay in.

After being out of town for 10 days, it was good to be home. When we drove up to the house, I could see from the road that the garden had grown exponentially while we’d been away. I was so excited to see what all my little plant babies had been up to. Unfortunately, upon a closer look, I discovered the garden was mostly just producing very healthy and hearty grasses and weeds.

I chuckled a little out loud and cried a little on the inside before getting to work pulling as many of those darn weeds as I could. I made a pile almost up to my knees in just a few minutes and underneath all that mess, I discovered a robust zucchini plant pumping out vegetables, baby broccoli nearly ready to harvest, two volunteer tomato plants that seeded themselves, two big handfuls of raspberries and blueberries, which I decided was a reward for pulling all those weeds and enough basil to make a batch of pesto.

All in all, not a bad haul for a whole lot of benign neglect and a little bit of Yakima sunshine. I came back to the house holding four zucchinis and so much basil I had to turn the hem of my t-shirt into a basket to carry it all.

With temperatures sky rocketing this week, the idea of turning on the oven feels like a very bad idea. But dinner still needs to be made and if we have to make it, it might as well be delicious. This silky smooth pasta dish comes together in the time it takes to boil a pot of water. This recipe is adapted from one I found on the lovely food blog, The Modern Proper, and I can’t wait for you to try it as well.

Zucchini, a little shallot, garlic and a bit of heavy cream come together for a fettuccini Alfredo-like sauce that uses up a good chunk of those garden zucchinis. Even the pickiest of eaters will go crazy for this luscious pasta dish. When they ask why it’s green, just pretend you can’t hear the question and set the bowl in front of them. I guarantee no one will be complaining. Use this recipe as a jumping off point and add or change it as you prefer. Fresh corn, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers would all be lovely additions to this dish and could be stirred into the pasta.

Creamy Zucchini Pasta

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 3 cups diced zucchini (2-3 medium)

• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1/2 black pepper

• 1 pound pasta such as spaghetti, fusilli or bucatini

• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water

In a medium sized saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and shallots and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

Once vegetables are very soft, add heavy cream, basil leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes, stir until all ingredients are incorporated.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions. When draining the pasta, reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Add pasta water to zucchini sauce. Remove sauce from heat and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a high speed blender. Blend sauce until smooth. (An immersion blender works wonderfully here, and saves a step in transferring the sauce as well as clean-up time).

Transfer the sauce back to the sauce pan and add in Parmesan cheese along with pasta. Stir gently to incorporate and the cheese melts into the sauce. Garnish with an additional tablespoon of fresh basil and a pinch of black pepper. Serve immediately.