11th
Incredible Hulk pasta (summer squash, tomatillos, basil)
All right, so maybe the Harry Potter pasta didn’t have that much to do with Harry Potter. It is magically amazing, though — and long live Dumbledore. Anyway, this pasta really does have something to do with the Incredible Hulk: look how green it is! And it’s incredibly delicious. And seasonal. And my own creation.
Raaaaaawrrrrr:
Our CSA provided a wonderful emerald bounty last week and I immediately began thinking about the verdant pasta I would make. I checked in with my man Chris K and he had this summer squash recipe with tomatoes, basil and pine nuts. Chris reminded me of an old trick: salt the squash first. No, not because salt makes everything taste better (that too) but to draw out the liquid before cooking, so that the squash will brown rather than steam (much more flavor) and be less watery when finished.
The squash brings substance and savor, the tomatillos provide a nice tomato-lemon sweetness and the basil adds aroma and flavor. I used sauteed onions for depth and richness, too. Toasted bread crumbs would be a nice addition here for textural contrast, but I was hungry so I skipped that. Rawr.
PASTA WITH SUMMER SQUASH, TOMATILLOS, BASIL
1 lb pasta (I used whole wheat rotini)
1 large summer squash
8 small tomatillos, quartered or halved
1 small bunch basil, roughly chopped
1/2 large onion
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
parmesan and olive oil
1. Slice squash into 1/2 inch deep cylinders and spread on paper towels. Heavily salt each squash cylinder (kosher salt is good here) and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Squash will develop large beads of water. Squeeze cylinders with paper towels, using more towels as needed. Cut squash cylinders into quarters.
2. Boil pasta in heavily salted water until al dente, reserving some cooking water.
3. Saute onions over medium-high heat in olive oil until translucent and just beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Remove onion-garlic to bowl.
4. Raise heat to high and add squash and additional olive oil. Cook until squash is well browned, about 10 minutes. Add tomatillos and basil and cook until tomatillos are slightly blistered and basil is wilted, five more minutes.
5. Mix together pasta, squash-tomatillo-basil mixture, and onions. If pasta is very dry, add pasta cooking water or olive oil. Taste for salt. Serve, passing parmesan.
