Tomato Zucchini Summer Pasta

If you’re looking to enjoy the freshest summer produce, then this tomato zucchini summer pasta recipe is for you! Ten ingredients come together in less than thirty minutes to form a simple, flavorful dish that can only be thought of as the essence of summer, all in a quick weeknight pasta.

Are you ready for a quick weeknight summer meal?

Zucchini and tomatoes are stars during the summer season. But weeknight meals need to be accessible all year round. The great thing about these two vegetables is that they’re always available in grocery stores and are center stage of this quick-to-make pasta.

Oftentimes, zucchini is hidden in bread, cakes, or other foods, making it tasteless and pointless. This pasta first browns the zucchini in ghee, which gives the zucchini a slight crust and brings out its natural flavor. Once browned, a quick sauce is made with cherry tomatoes, pasta water, and fresh basil. When finished, the pasta tastes like it took effort, but the work was minimal. It’s a full-flavored pasta full of the best ingredients summer offers.

Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.

This recipe has a minimal number of ingredients, which is exactly how a weeknight meal should be! Since the focus is on the summer produce, the rest of the ingredients should recede into the background, highlighting the vegetables’ flavors. Here are some of the important ingredients:

• Zucchini is plentiful during the summer. As a summer squash, zucchini does not have a lot of flavor when eaten raw. To bring out the flavor, sautéeing it is a very important step as the browning adds flavor. Note: do not salt the zucchini before browning. If salted, the zucchini will release moisture and steam instead of brown.
• Tomatoes are the base for many pasta sauces. This sauce utilizes cherry or grape tomatoes. The reason for their use is that even if they’re not in season, store-bought cherry tomatoes have good flavor and sweetness, making this an easy dish to prepare year-round.
• Pasta water is a crucial part of the sauce. When dry pasta cooks in water, starch from the pasta is left behind in the water. When starchy pasta water is used in the sauce, it helps thicken and bring the sauce together.
• Heavy cream adds richness to the sauce without becoming too heavy. Instead of being laden with cream, just a small amount is added to offset the acidity of the tomatoes. The high fat in heavy cream allows the cream to simmer and thicken with the sauce.

Here’s how to make this recipe.

The process of preparing this weeknight recipe is pretty simple, with everything getting mixed together in one pot at the end. Here’s the process:

1. Cook the pasta. Boil water and add salt. Pour the pasta into the water and cook until al dente. Once fully cooked, drain the water from the pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce.
2. Brown the zucchini on each side. To a skillet, add ghee and allow it to melt. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and slice it into approximately half-inch wide moon-shaped pieces. If smaller pieces are desired, slice the zucchini even further into quarter-sized pieces. Once chopped, add the zucchini to the melted ghee. Allow one side of the zucchini to become slightly golden before flipping it over to brown on the other side. Once fully browned, remove the zucchini from the skillet and set it aside. Leave the remaining ghee in the skillet.

3. Roast the tomatoes and add garlic. Slice most of the grape or cherry tomatoes in half and leave some whole. Place all of the tomatoes in the ghee that’s still warm in the skillet. Sprinkle with the salt and allow the tomatoes to cook for a few minutes, which will cause them to begin breaking down. After a few minutes, when the tomatoes are syrupy, add in the minced garlic and the red pepper flakes. Stir in the garlic and cook it for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, checking to ensure it does not burn.

4. Add the tomatoes and zucchini to the pasta. Once the tomatoes have cooked with the garlic, add the mixture directly to the drained pasta. Add the reserved zucchini. Finish with the cream and the reserved pasta water. Stir the entire mixture together to evenly distribute the vegetables.

5. Add lemon zest and Parmesan cheese. Once the mixture is combined, add in some lemon zest and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Stir everything together and allow the mixture to cook for one to two minutes, so the cheese melts.
6. Finish with basil and stir everything together. Add a final sprinkle of salt to taste and throw in the basil. Mix everything together and serve immediately.

These pro tips will make this recipe a success.

• When shopping for zucchini or even picking them from your own garden, a smaller size will be more conducive to this recipe. A small size will have fewer seeds in the interior, so they do not need to be scooped out. 
• When browning the zucchini, do not salt them. Putting salt on the zucchini will cause them to steam rather than brown, as the salt will cause them to draw out moisture.
• Using grape or cherry tomatoes is a surefire way to ensure the tomatoes will have good flavor. Larger tomatoes purchased at the store, if used any time other than in the summer, will not have the best flavor. However, grape and cherry tomatoes always seem to have decent flavor due to their small size.
• Before draining the pasta, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. This water is infused with starch from the pasta, and some of it will be used as part of the recipe’s binding agent in the sauce. While not all of the 1 cup may be needed, reserving this amount allows you to thin out the sauce if needed.

You’ll love these other summertime recipes.

• Tequila citrus chicken tacos
• Easy pasta salad
• Family favorite potato salad
• Easy macaroni salad
• Grandma’s truly homemade baked beans
• Eggplant parmesan
• Fresh green bean and tomato salad
• Spiced pork and nectarine salad
• Fresh herb pasta salad

Watch how to make this recipe.

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