A picture of the recent bounty from TMC’s Community Gardenon Facebook, and the recent release of the USDA’s new food guidelines, My Plate, prompted a little research for recipes that were low on heat, pretty low on preparation, but high on taste and nutrition.
Angel Hair Zucchini Serves 2, but doubles easilyFrom Words to Eat By
- 3 small zucchini, trimmed and julienned into long strands
- 4 ounces angel hair pasta - I used whole wheat spaghetti
- 1/4 cup basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (I useParmigiano Reggiano)
- 14 walnuts halves (this is not in the original recipe, but added to the protein portion)
About an hour before you plan to eat, julienne the zucchini and put it in a colander. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, until much of the liquid has been drawn out.
About 25 minutes before you plan to eat, put a large pot of salted water on to boil—cover it to speed things up. When it boils, cook pasta according to package directions.
While it’s cooking, lay a kitchen towel on the counter. Take handfuls of the zucchini and give them a good squeeze over the sink to wring out as much liquid as possible. Spread the zucchini out on the towel, and roll it up like a jellyroll. Squeeze over the sink to remove even more moisture. Unroll over a large serving bowl, and let all the zucchini fall into it.
Next, chiffonade the basil leaves: Stack them up, roll them into a cigar, and cut as thin as possible. Unroll and you’ll have beautiful slivers. Put these into the bowl (save a handful for sprinkling on top, if you want it to be pretty).
Before draining the pasta, reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. When it’s drained, add the pasta to the bowl. Pour on the olive oil, lemon juice, and Parmesan, and toss well (I use tongs for this). Add splashes of the reserved cooking water if it looks too dry, until the pasta glistens.
Serve topped with additional Parmesan.
