Monday, June 8, 2009

rotini with summer squash and peas


  • 1 lb rotini
  • 1 bag of frozen peas, thawed for 1/2 hour
  • 3 summer squash, cut into bite sized pieces
  • Olivio
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Parmesan cheese
  • fresh basil, chopped

Boil pasta in lightly salted water until just about fully cooked, maybe about 7-8 minutes. Scoop about 1-2 cups of the water (I recommend a pyrex measuring cup for the task) and set aside. Add squash and peas to pot and continue cooking over a high flame for about 2 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Drain mixture and return to the same pot, add 3 tablespoons of Olivio, lemon juice and enough of the reserved water to make a sauce that will cover all of the ingredients. Toss until Olivio is fully melted. Add basil and cheese and serve.

The dish: If you live in the beautiful Empire State, then you're going through this funky time where it's pretty hot out but constantly raining. I hate using the stove during the summer, but when it's wet out it's a necessary evil. This dish is great because it's a true one pot meal that only takes about 10 minutes to cook, so you can go from start to finish before your kitchen is even heated up. As always, try to use the pasta that's fortified with some good stuff like fiber and omega 3s, we like Barilla Plus or Hannaford has a similar house brand. You won't even taste the difference and you can feel good about eating a nice big plate of pasta.

1 comment:

  1. Un petit piece on peas:

    You can just pour the peas in from Frozen (dont bother to thaw) if you do it about 3 minutes from end).

    Jamie Oliver (Fancy British Chef -- or is that an oximoron?) swears that frozen peas are just as good as the fresh ones with much less work.

    For an easy side dish - peas with a sprig of rosemary.

    Made Chicken with Artichokes last night in the wok. Delish. I have colorful platters for you...

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