I am rockin’ and rollin’ with these tomato and basil recipes. I think we made some good choices this year when it came to planting our garden. Apparently, there’s a lot you can do with cherry tomatoes, basil and zucchini. These seem to be the big three. Between the salads and the pasta dishes I’ve been preparing, my stomach has been very full.
The Recipe
I found a recipe similar to the one I’m going to share below in our monthly Hannaford “Fresh” magazine. The directions weren’t very clear and the recipe was more of an idea than anything else, so I decided to go online to see if anyone out there had ever put together spaghetti, zucchini and tomatos. Of course, I found quite a few recipes, so I just chose one. These days, it’s common for us to have Parmesan cheese and many other necessary ingredients for these recipes right in the refrigerator, so I didn’t have to do any shopping.
Anyway, the dish I made put our veggies to good use. I was able to include two pretty good sized zucchinis and whole quart of cherry tomatoes. I also went a little wild with the basil because that’s how I roll. Overall, the dish came out very well. I was happy. It was tasty, had some nice texture and I was stuffed by the time I was done. I also felt as though I had eaten something fresh, if that makes any sense. The only way I could have improved upon this recipe was to have included homemade pasta as opposed to the dried pasta I used. Perhaps I’ll do that next time.
Ingredients
Serves: 4-6
2 Medium Zucchini, Diced
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
1 Medium Sized Sweet Onion, Chopped
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
1 Quart Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1 Pound Dry Spaghetti
1/3 Cups Kalamata Olives, Chopped
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves, Torn
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank Ricardo Cuisine for this recipe. The author did a wonderful job of including much of what I love in the food world and the dish was stellar.
Brown the Zucchini
Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Then, add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, followed by the zucchini. Stir a few times and let the zucchini cook until it’s lightly browned.
When it is, transfer it to a large bowl.
Cook the Tomatoes
In the same skillet that’s now empty, add two tablespoons of oil. Then add in the onion and cook that for about five minutes until it’s softened. After that, add in the tomatoes, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stir, and let these ingredients simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Cook the Pasta
While the tomatoes are cooking, bring four quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add one tablespoon salt to the water and then add in the dry spaghetti. Stir and let the spaghetti cook for about 10 minutes or until it’s al dente. When it’s ready, strain it through a colander after saving 1/2 cup of liquid from the pot.
Combine Ingredients
When the pasta is ready, go ahead and add that to the large bowl the zucchini is in. Then, add in the tomato sauce as well, along with the olives, half the basil leaves and half the Parmesan cheese. Mix everything together well until it’s all coated with the tomato sauce. Add some liquid from the pasta pot if necessary.
Plate & Serve
Divide the spaghetti mixture between plates and then add on the remaining basil and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper if necessary and serve. Enjoy!
The Final Spaghetti, Tomato & Basil Dinner
The reason I enjoyed this dish so much was because it gave me the feeling I was throwing a lot of fresh vegetables into it, which I suppose I was. The taste showed that. I hope you give this one a try and if you do, please let me know how it turned out down in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
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