What a beautiful day. The sun is out and a gentle breeze passes through every once in a while just to stir up the air. Everyone is at peace and the only thought on anyone’s mind is one hoping that time will just pause here for a bit so that this feeling can soak in. It’s approaching time to eat. What will prolong this tranquil afternoon? The wonderful simplicity of well cooked garden flavors.
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Serves: 4
Zucchini Flower Pasta
- 3 cups Zucchini Flowers – fresh, sliced lengthwise
- 2 Yellow Squash – fresh, quartered lengthwise then chopped to ¼ in
- 1 Zucchini – fresh, quartered lengthwise then chopped to ¼ in
- 3 cloves Garlic – fresh, crushed and minced
- 1 cup Golden Grape Tomatoes – fresh, halved
- 1 cup Broccoli Rabe – fresh, coarsely chopped, remove hard stems
- 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Italian Oregano
- ¼ tsp Crushed Chili Pepper Flakes
- 1½ tsp Salt
- 1 lb Noodles
Let’s start
Put olive oil in a large skillet, add in the garlic and chili pepper flakes. Sauté on medium heat until the garlic is golden and fragrant. Remove from heat.
Start the water for noodles.
After chopping the yellow squash and zucchini, return the skillet to the burner on medium heat and add the squashes. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slice the zucchini flowers (each flower should be sliced no smaller than into quarters, otherwise it will lose its delicate flavor), and add to skillet with broccoli rabe, golden grape tomatoes, and oregano. Turn the burner off, and cover with the lid.
Once noodles have been cooked (al dente) and drained, return the skillet with the veggies to the burner, and add the noodles to saute on medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Tip in some more oil (2 tbsp should be sufficient) if the noodles seem to have absorbed all the juice from the vegetables.
Serve hot and enjoy.
Extras and Tips
Chris’ brother was visiting us on a beautiful sunshiny midsummer’s day, and while perusing our garden, he saw that our lush zucchini plants show off exquisitely symmetrical bright yellow flowers. His interest piqued, he came to me while I was tendering to my tomatoes, and mentioned nonchalantly that he had seen zucchini flower pasta on a restaurant menu just a few days back, and, not having ordered the dish, still had no idea what they may taste like, he was curious to find out. I glanced at the garden and quickly determined that I could certainly cook up a speedy, budget, and fresh summer meal by simply using several freshly-picked vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
Twenty-five minutes later, he took his first bite of the zucchini flower pasta and enthusiastically uttered: “This is perfect, it’s summertime in a bowl!”
TIPS:
For the extra-virgin olive oil, ideally, you would want to use a “delicato” type, such as an Italian or Spanish oil, as opposed to the Greek varieties, which tend to be a little more pungent. The zucchini flowers are easily overshadowed by more potent flavors, so it would be a good idea to adjust your condiments accordingly.
To cook PERFECT al dente noodles, put water in a tall, large pot, and set it on a wide burner on high heat, in order to bring it to a boil. When the water reaches a jolly boil, salt with 2 tsp of coarse salt. Tip the noodles into the boiling water and cook.
Here are the tests for when the pasta is done:
-
- The color should retain its golden yellow. A faded or white color means it is over done.
- It should hold its shape firmly.
- When bitten, there should be some resistance towards the center while the outer layer is slightly softened.
Drain the noodles in a colander, and rinse under cold water immediately to stop them from cooking any longer.
