Fusilli Con Buco Pasta

with Summer Squash & Mint

Details

There are plenty of ways to enjoy seasonal squash, but one of our favorites is in a lightly-dressed pasta. In this recipe, we’re cooking up fusilli con buco, with its famously springy, hollow noodles (“con buco” means “with a hole” in Italian). As for the vegetables, we’re sautéing beautiful, bright varieties of summer squash, including zucchini. With a lemon-butter sauce, pecorino cheese and mint, this pasta is refreshing and hearty all at once.

Ingredients

Note: Measurements are for 2 serving recipes.

Instructions

step 1

Prepare the ingredients:

Wash and dry the fresh produce. Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Using a peeler, remove the yellow rind of the lemon, avoiding the white pith; mince the rind to get 2 teaspoons of zest (or use a zester). Quarter and deseed the lemon. Trim off and discard the stem ends of the zucchini and summer squash; quarter lengthwise, then thinly slice. Pick the mint leaves off the stems; discard the stems.

step 2

Cook the pasta:

Add the pasta to the pot of boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 14 to 16 minutes, or until just shy of al dente (still slightly firm to the bite). Reserving ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water, drain the pasta thoroughly.

step 3

Cook the vegetables:

Once the pasta has cooked for about 10 minutes, in a large pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the garlic, zucchini and summer squash; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly browned.

step 4

Finish the pasta:

To the pan of vegetables, add the cooked pasta, lemon zest, butter, half the pecorino cheese, the juice of all 4 lemon wedges and ½ cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pasta is thoroughly coated. (If the sauce seems dry, gradually add the remaining pasta cooking water to achieve your desired consistency.) Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

step 5

Plate your dish:

Divide the finished pasta between 2 dishes. Garnish with the mint and remaining pecorino cheese. Enjoy!