It is zucchini season, and coming from someone who has zucchini growing in the garden, when they’re here they arrive in large abundance. This is one of my favourite recipes—super quick and easy to get on the table. It works great as a light lunch or as a side for dinner. Chop up some prosciutto or leftover steak, and it quickly becomes a main. I’ve paired it with a ton of roasted garlic, one of my favourite partners to really create a yummy tasty dish. I also like to serve some hot pepper flakes on the side. In my book, the more garlic and heat in a dish, the better it is.
Try it, I’m sure your family will gobble it up!
Ingredients:
1 large zucchini
20 cloves garlic (about 3 heads)
4 tbsps parmesan cheese
2 tbsps butter
2 tbsps olive oil, plus 2 tbsps fresh for garnish
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful parsley, chopped
1 450gr package penne
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
(serves 4)
Directions:
Roast garlic. Chop off the tops of the garlic heads. Drizzle with some olive oil and salt. Wrap in foil. Bake for 35 mins at 350. Cool.
Prepare pasta according to directions, leave al dente.
While water is boiling, roughly chop zucchini. Sauté in pan on high heat with some olive oil, salt, and pepper until softened, 5-7 minutes. Feel free to char the outsides until a little blackened. Do not overcook. Remove from heat.
Remove whole cloves from roasted garlic.
Toss pasta with butter, olive oil, and parsley. Add in zucchini, garlic cloves, thyme, and sage.
Top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately. I like to dust mine with some hot pepper flakes, but that is optional.
Still have too many zucchinis lying around? Try this mouthwatering Zucchini, Chocolate, And Coconut Bread, this Zucchini Ribbon Salad With Sun Dried Tomatoes and Feta, or these Dill Pickle Zucchini Chips.
It’s that time of year again. Tomatoes are back! Tomatoes are my all time favourite food and every year about this time I get lost in the kitchen making all kinds of tomato based dishes. This is one of my regular-go-to-faithful recipes that begins to appear on my table a couple of times a week right about now. It’s super quick and easy (a requirement), with little prep and clean up and is simple to can if you want to save a little jar of summer magic for those colder winter months.
This is a favourite for pasta, but I’ve used it as a side for chicken, a base for pizza or risotto and a spread for crostini too. The combo of tomatoes, onions and garlic gets super sweet and sticky as it roasts down, really concentrating the flavours and creating a little piece of tomato heaven you won’t be able to get enough of.
Try it and I guarantee it will become one of your favourites too!
makes about 2 cups
8 medium-large ripe tomatoes
1 dozen cloves garlic, peeled
2 large Spanish onions
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 handfuls fresh basil
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Thickly slice tomatoes and onions. Spread tomatoes, onions, thyme and basil on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Tuck garlic cloves under tomato or onion slices. This is to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn during the roasting process or it will make your sauce bitter.
Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Cook for 60-75 minutes, until ingredients are browned and reduced.
Scrape all ingredients and juices into a bowl or pan. Blend with your hand blender. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Enjoy!!!
Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen or canned according to standard canning instructions.
Want to try a few of my other favourite summer recipes?
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