Zucchini Pasta with Ricotta

So, how's the zucchini out by you these days?  Here in sultry New Jersey it has us surrounded, which is as good an excuse as any to make this easy pasta dish for supper...and which in turn lets me indulge two of my favorite things to do; using my lethal weapon of a mandoline, and making yet another pot of fresh ricotta.  Neither one of which should scare you off, since you can make this dish perfectly nicely with a regular knife and ricotta from the store, but I'm just saying.

Anyway, slice up your zucchini into nice long strips in whatever way you like to do it, and roasted them with a little olive oil until they are nice and golden and wonderful.  In the meantime, cook up a pot of linguine, and make sure you save a little of the pasta water before you drain it.  (This is a good basic rule in life...a little pasta water can do amazing things for pretty much any pasta sauce that needs just a teeny bit of loosening.)  

Now toss that pasta sauce with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, and then gently stir in some of your roasted zucchini.  Drizzle in a little of the pasta water if you think it needs it.  Top with some ricotta (and if you do want to make your own, click here for my favorite - and quick! - way to make it), and a little lemon zest.  Done!

Take that, zucchini!

Zucchini Pasta with Ricotta, from Everyday Food

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 2 pounds zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound linguine
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup ricotta

1. Preheatoven to 450. Brush two rimmed baking sheets with oil. Arrange zucchiniin a single layer on sheets and brush tops with oil; season with saltand pepper. Roast zucchini until tender and lightly golden in parts, 25to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
   
2. Meanwhile,in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook linguine according topackage instructions. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add oil, lemonzest, and zucchini and toss to combine. Serve pasta topped with ricotta.

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Creamy Pasta with Roasted Zucchini, Almonds and Basil

We are now in the wonderful midst of the lazy, hazy, wonderful days of summer, and that means the best local veggies of the year.  Fresh local vegetable season is over before you know it, and so I throw them into everything I can think of these days.  This week our local farmers market had a giant mountain of zucchini that was still warm from the sunny field, and that was all the excuse I needed to make this one....and it had the extra added advantage of also needing some basil, which I have about 100 acres of at the moment.

Now this DOES involve turning on your oven, which is usually against the rules in my house during the months of July and August unless Absolutely Necessary, but let me tell you that the delicious roasted crispy edges of the zucchini make it Absolutely Necessary.    Once it is done, it gets tossed with a quick little cream sauce that includes lemon zest (yum!) and a few tablespoons of your favorite goat cheese.  My favorite goat cheese comes from these guys:

And if you want to know the full story behind those adorable faces, please click here.  Otherwise, please proceed with making this fabulous pasta dish, while the zucchini is in full swing.

Creamy Pasta with Roasted Zucchini, Almonds and Basil, from The New York Times

• 2 medium zucchini, cut into
• 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 sprig basil, with leaves and stem
• 3 tablespoons goat cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 6 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti or linguine.

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Toss the zucchini and oil with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Arrange zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden and tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a skillet over medium heat until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
3. Simmer the cream and basil sprig in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 7 minutes. Whisk in the goat cheese until the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and keep warm.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain well. Toss the pasta with the cream sauce. Serve topped with the zucchini and almonds.

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Zucchini Carpaccio

Here's the latest in the Friday Night Lights series of light suppers the Southern husband and I have been having lately.   It's nice and light and involves one of my favorite things in life, which is fresh ricotta cheese.  First of all, I love to make ricotta.  It is one of the easiest things in the world to make and when you are done (in about 10 minutes) you feel supremely worldly and intelligent for being able to make your own ricotta cheese.  I use a recipe you can find by clicking here, but I add in about 1/4 cup of heavy cream, which makes it, well, creamier.

Second of all, I love to eat ricotta, and therein lies a confession about this particular post.  After I took that picture up there, and the one below, I went back and added a bunch more ricotta.  I wanted you to be able to see all the nice layered zucchini slices, but I also wanted to be able to eat lots and lots of fresh ricotta, and there you go.

Once you've made the ricotta the rest of this dish is a snap.  Slice the zucchini as thin as you can get it.  I used a  Mandoline Slicer, but you could also use just a plain old knife, if you are a really good thin zucchini slicing type of person.  Then arrange them in a pretty pattern on a pretty plate.  Drizzle with a mixture of fresh lemon juice and nice olive oil, scatter on some chopped scallions, grind on some fresh pepper, and spoon on as much ricotta as you can handle.  (I can handle a LOT).  Then chop up a handful of fresh basil (or any other herb that catches your fancy), and that's it!  We ate this in our usual Friday Night Lights style - cuddled up on the couch from one plate with some jazz on the stereo -- but it would be a great side dish for grilled steak or chicken.  And its almost, almost grilling season!

Happy sigh.

Zucchini Carpaccio,  from Bon Appetit

• 5 medium zucchini, trimmed
• Coarse kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• One cup ricotta cheese, preferably fresh
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Using knife or mandoline slicer, cut zucchini into paper-thin rounds. 

2. Arrange rounds, slightly overlapping, on large platter. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and pepper, then green onions. 

3. Whisk lemon juice and oil in small bowl. Drizzle dressing evenly over zucchini. 

4. Drop small spoonfuls of cheese all over zucchini. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Pappardelle with Zucchini, Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Rosemary

1. Don't you just love it when it is time to take the Christmas plates out?

2. Don't you just love it when your dinner actually MATCHES the Christmas plates?

I know, but these are the little things in life that keep a smile on my face, and so I am going with the flow here. This great recipe is another one from THE NEW BROOKLYN COOKBOOK, and is easy enough that you actually don't mind whipping it up in the midst of the wrapping and the shopping and the fa-la-la-la-la. Don't be tempted to use anything other than pappardale in this recipe - it's that gorgeous wide pasta that you see in the picture, and it is the perfect pasta for this dish. I found it without any problem in my local market, right there on the pasta aisle, but if you have any problem you can order it from that same place you are getting all your holiday gifts...here's the link:

Pappardelle Pasta

Anyway, this is a fast and scrumptious dish that will remind you a little of that old standard, pasta primavera, but in this case the veggies are limited to cherry tomatoes that are roasted with a little olive oil and coarse salt, and zucchini that is cut into matchstick size pieces and quickly sauteed. A few toasted pine nuts, some parmesan cheese and you are in business - a red and green pasta dish that would be just perfect for an elegant dinner on, say, Christmas Eve?

Yum and yum and ho ho ho.

Pappardelle with Zucchini, Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Rosemary, adapted from THE NEW BROOKLYN COOKBOOK

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt
• 16 ounces papparedelle
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into matchsticks (about 2 inches by 1/4 inch)
• leaves from two fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
• Freshly grated parmesan

1. Lightly toast pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425. Toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil and a generous pinch of salt. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or nonstick foil and roast for 20 minutes.

3. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain.

4. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and zucchini and cook for 3 minutes, stirring now and then. Stir in rosemary and cook for 2 minutes more. Add drained pasta and tomatoes and toss, adding a little pasta water to make a light sauce. Sprinkle with pine nuts and cheese and serve at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Summer Lasagne

This recipe made me ridiculously happy in every way.

First of all, it is one of those recipes that looks like you slaved over it for hours when really you messed around in the kitchen for about 20 minutes. Second, it takes full advantage of the fresh and wonderful summer veggies that are starting to trickle in -- young fresh basil, sweet cherry tomatoes, and zucchini. Third, it is yet another recipe that calls for fresh ricotta, thereby helping me satisfy my new obsession with making my own ricotta (and as always, you feel free to buy your ricotta at the supermarket, the way well-adjusted people do.) Fourth, the reason it is called "Summer Lasagne" is because you don't bake it. Nope, no oven required.

Last but not least, it was SO photogenic. Like this baby I know, it looked good in every single shot.

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:

Both scrumptious, right??

Here's the recipe. For the lasagne, I mean...not the baby.

Summer Lasagne, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 lasagne noodles, broken into thirds, cooked and drained
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup torn basil leaves

1. Combine ricotta, parmesan and olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium high and add garlic and tomatoes. Cook until slightly broken down, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

3. Add zucchini to skillet (with a little more oil if needed). Season with salt and pepper and cook about 5 minutes until tender. Transfer to another bowl.

4. Scatter a few tomatoes over four plates. Top with one noodle, a spoonful of ricotta mixture, zucchini and more tomatoes. Repeat layering twice, ending with noodle and tomatoes. Drizzle a little more olive oil on top. Garnish with basil and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Tarragon Chicken in Bread Bowls

Now in the great scheme of things, life is pretty good when you get to actually eat the serving dishes, don't you think? This is a quick quick quick recipe that has the extra added advantage of no plates to put in the dishwasher afterwards, because they will all have been scarfed down with the main course.This is basically a really fast chicken stew that is cooked in a thick white wine sauce with a few nice veggies tossed in. I used carrots and zucchini but you should feel free to improvise. Peas, celery, artichoke hearts, spinach...go crazy. A couple of tips for this one:

1. Cook the chicken breasts whole, and when they are almost done, pull them out, shred them with two forks into bite size pieces, and toss them back in for a minute or two. Shredding them will give you some nice rough edges on the chicken that will catch the sauce -- if you cut them up with a knife they will have smooth edges that won't work as well.

2. The best bread bowls in the world are yours for the asking at Panera. They make sourdough ones that are the PERFECT size and texture for this recipe. If you are an obsessive advance-planner like me, you can go to Panera for lunch and pick up your dinner bread bowls at the same time. Or just send your Southern husband to go get them.

3. So there you go...a perfect, comforting mid-winter dinner. Or lunch. Or whatever. I certainly have been known to eat dinner for breakfast, and vice versa. Happy bread bowls!

TARRAGON CHICKEN IN BREAD BOWLS

Serves two, expand as needed!

1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion
2 boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup sliced carrot
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 bread bowls


1. Put flour in bowl, slowly add milk, whisking until combined. Add broth and wine.

2. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and chicken to pan and saute 2 minutes. Stir in carrots, zucchini, tarragon and spices. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring.

3. Pour in flour mixture, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. When almost done, take out chicken breasts and shred into bite size pieces with two forks. Return to pot.

5. Cut the tops off of the bread bowls, leaving a one inch border around the edges. Scoop out the bread on the inside and set aside (this makes great bread crumbs for future recipes).

6. Warm the bread bowls in the microwave for 30 seconds each.

7. Season chicken stew as needed with salt and pepper and ladle into warm bread bowls. Serve with the bread bowl top on the side.

Click here for printable recipe

Corn and Zucchini Salad

Okay, I know I pushed the envelope a little yesterday with the chocolate sausage concoctions, so here is a really really really healthy antidote: a lickety-split fast warm salad of all fresh summer ingredients. This is another one that you can make start to finish in the time that your significant other is cooking the main course on the grill (we had chicken that my Southern darling grilled, sliced and topped with a quick honey mustard sauce).

But before I get into this quick little recipe, can we just pause for a second on the lovely little green bowl it is in? (Proud Mother Alert): my smart, beautiful, talented, black-belt wearing, honor-student of a daughter MADE that bowl in her ceramics class. Yes she did, and she brought it home to me, and usually it is sitting right here on my desk where I can admire it, but yesterday night it just seemed perfect to hold the little summer salad I had just made.

Did I mention that she is beautiful? My Emma.

Anyway, here is a quick and delicious little summer side dish that is the perfect healthy way to recover from too many chocolate sausage indulgences. (See yesterday's blog post. I still love them.)

CORN AND ZUCCHINI SALAD

Serves 4

• 1 zucchini, cut in half length-wise and sliced into quarters cross-wise
• 4 ears of corn, husked and kernels sliced off
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add zucchini and garlic and saute, stirring constantly, until zucchini is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.

2. Add corn and cook 2-3 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in basil.