The summer before my senior year in high school, my parents decided to plant a garden. On days off from my job waiting tables at a local brewpub, I helped them out, digging or weeding or spreading soil. We planted what we envisioned would end up as a veritable cornucopia, from lettuce and tomatoes to eggplants and zucchini, and we all pitched in tending that once-overgrown plot of land as the weather got warmer and the days got longer. And we waited, our mouths watering, for those first vegetables to appear. I remember how excited I was to pick the first zucchini and bring it into the house. Wanting to savor it in its purest form, we cut it into little matchsticks, sprinkled on some salt and pepper, and dipped it in homemade green goddess dressing as a pre-dinner treat. The next one, a few days later, was added to a gratin, and the one after that we halved, stuffed and roasted.
By mid-summer, the rabbits had eaten the lettuce, the beetles had devastated the tomatoes and the eggplants were basically swollen purple golf balls but, man, did we have zucchini. Everyday, it seemed there was another one to pick and every night it showed up on our table. My mom had already baked and frozen enough loaves of zucchini bread to get her through two holiday seasons and my meat-loving dad threatened a hunger strike when ‘Vegan Squash Surprise’ showed up on the table for the third night in a row. Not wanting to waste our bounty, we tried giving them away to neighbors and friends. With every knowing smile and gentle denial we got, we discovered what most first-time vegetable gardeners learn: everyone who grows zucchini has too much zucchini. It can take over your life. We soldiered through that summer, collectively sighing with relief when the first frost settled on the garden. By the following summer, I had armed myself with a new arsenal of squash recipes and some info on how to stem the onslaught (heads up, if you clip the flowers you can help control the spread), but that year it was eggplants that overtook our garden.
With summer just around the corner, I figured I’d share one of my favorite ways of preparing zucchini in an effort to give any newbie vegetable gardeners a base to start their soon-to-be-growing summer squash recipe collections. This is a versatile dish that is also great if you omit the pasta and serve alongside grilled chicken or fish, and it’s even tasty at room-temperature. You can vary the flavors by changing up what herbs you use and swapping out the feta for crumbled goat cheese or coarsely shredded Parmesan.
Ingredients
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 large cloves garlic, sliced thin
3 medium or 1 ½ lbs. summer squash (zucchini or yellow squash), sliced into ¼ to ½ inch-thick slices
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
Handful fresh chopped herbs of choice (basil, Italian parsley and tarragon are all delicious in this)
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
1 lb. campanelle, farfalle, penne or other short-cut pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add pasta and cook until al dente or according to package directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add shallot, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are soft and caramelized, about eight to ten minutes. Remove and reserve.
Add remaining oil to skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until just starting to become golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and discard, or save to sprinkle over finished dish if you desire.
Add the squash in batches, letting each batch begin to brown before adding the next. When all the squash has been added to the pan, sauté until squash is golden brown and tender, five to seven minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss shallots, squash, feta, herbs and pine nuts (if using) with hot pasta, adding reserved pasta water to make it ‘saucier’ if desired. Breathe a sigh of relief that you’ve managed to use another few of those squash before heading out to the garden to pick the ones that have sprouted while you were eating. Repeat from step one.
by Tara Pierson Hoey
