Summetime Pasta

 Summertime Pasta

Today was the Summer solstice.  The creaky hinge between the warmth of late Spring and the coming heat of Summer.  As I do most every morning I ambled out into the garden after coffee to take my daily peek at progress, water my burgeoning tomatoes and peppers, and today, pay a little mind to the parsley and some new scallions that were put in the ground last week.

It's a lovely time in the garden. soft and warm, low 70-degree days, all the plants putting their best foot forward and thrusting their chests to the sky, soaking in as much sun as they can. 

Of particular note this morning was my zucchini tree experiment. To save space I've been noodling about with a staked tower of zucchini, dutifully tying the main branches up a pole and trimming excess below creating a shady pod for zucchini production. 

 It's paying off nicely with a real bounty this year and today I picked the first of many.  Two perfectly sized (too small and they're, well, too small and dense and too large they become mushy and bland) zucchini made their way from the patch into my kitchen where my plans were for one of my favorite light meals.  

Strait from the garden Pasta Primavera 

Usually, that means a mishmash of whatever is currently ready, with a few halved Juliet tomatoes and a little olive oil, garlic, and pepperoncini.  but today I wanted to try a recipe I found in one of my favorite Italian cookbooks, My Kitchen in Rome, by Rachel Roddy.

If you haven't read ms Roddy's book(s) please do so at once. Exquisite recipes and warm, engaging writing. She's my current cookbook crush, big time.

This particular recipe jumped out at me because it's two of my favorite piatti merged into one. A.  An early summer veggie pasta, and B. Carbonara -  the lusty luscious heart of Rome on a plate.  The thought of fresh, delicate squash slathered in a soft egg/cheese wash sauce evokes visions of the long lazy, and hazy summer soon on its way.  Zucchini are the pure embodiment of a Summertime nap. lolling about, languid and brilliant green, as though without a care in the world other than being warmed by the sun

All great Italian food is simple by design.  A few tasty ingredients allow all the flavors to merge and emerge without distraction. And that is precisely the genius of this plate.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 fresh-picked zucchini, washed and cut into 2" match sticks (roughly 1/4" x2").  So yeah, thicker than an actual match stick, but you take my point.

4 scallions and a few super thin, almost transparent slices of red onion.

3 to 4 tbsps EVOO.  Err sightly on the side of when you think you've put just a bit too much in the pan, but don't drown them.

2 eggs + 2 egg yokes

1 cup of pecorino* cheese, but keep out the slab for grating more as a garnish

    *I prefer Pecorino Romano for the hearty peasant saltiness, but use Parmesan  --> if that is your choice. Both work well.

A pound (453 grams) of fettuccini or any dry pasta you have at hand.  Bucatini is also a great choice.  Dry is best so the sauce clings to the pasta, but doesn't soak in as it will with pasta fresca. 

3 or 4 Fresh basil leaves to tear up and mix in at the end.

The How to:

Start your pasta water. This dish takes almost no time to put together

1.  Heat up your pan on a medium flame

2.  Add the zucchini and onions and cook them gently until fork-soft (about 8-10 minutes).  Don't walk away, you don't want them overcooked or mushy.

    --> I had to add that rather brusque and officious order as I've been guilty of this myself.  The zucchini should be soft, but still lingering toward al dente.

3.  Remove from heat.

4. Your pasta water should be boiling by now, so after vigorously salting, get your pasta cooking  Dry pasta, depending on age should be perfectly al dente in 8-10 minutes.  Start tasting at 7 minutes.  Set. a. timer. 

5.  While the pasta is happily boiling, whisk your eggs and yokes into a froth, add a generous amount of salt and pepper, and blend in the cup of pecorino - adding a bit of starchy pasta water as needed to keep it flowing.  You're going for a semi-soupy froth, so make sure it's not too thick.

6.  When the pasta is ready, retain about a cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. 

7.  Put the skillet with the zucchini back on low heat. (low, as you just want it warm and not cooking further) and toss the pasta in with it.  Mix it up thoroughly until it's a  tangled mess of pasta and zucchini and EVOO and then...

The tricky part:

Add your egg/cheese mix and any more pasta water needed to keep it smooth and fluid.  You don't want the eggs to clump and get too hot and turn into a scramble. Don't be afraid to make it a bit too thin as it WILL thicken as it cools.

    There is a certain knack to this, but practice, practice, practice until you get it perfect. It really is the key.

Stir enthusiastically until you've got a creamy, fragrant, luscious, texture thoroughly blended.  Add in some torn basil leaves while you stir.

Godare, le mie bellezze!

Serve immediately.

Yes, I know I told you above to use a long pasta like fettuccine or bucatini, but all I had around last night was farfalle.  Be flexible always. It was still wondrous.