This quick and easy garden linguine recipe uses cherry tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, basil and oregano fresh from the garden.
This spring was our first year starting a garden, and luckily we were a lot more successful than we thought we would be. We weren’t sure just how green our thumbs were and questioned whether or not or little garden plants would last long enough to produce any veggies.
As we checked our garden each day to see if the voracious bunnies had eaten their fill, we were delighted that they hadn’t. We still aren’t sure if it is because we chose to plant right next to our back door or if we just have picky bunnies. Either way, we didn’t notice any nibbles out of the zucchini or our cherry tomatoes. The basil and oregano also did not make it onto the menu for the bunnies.
The other night after a long day at the beach, I stood in front of my refrigerator trying to conjure up a meal. I couldn’t think of anything. I was long over due for a trip to the grocery store and was too tired to get in the car to pick up take out. My kids can be as picky as the backyard bunnies and usually – buttered pasta with veggies on the side always get a thumbs up.
I did in fact have both linguine and butter available, but that really wasn’t going to cut it for myself and my husband. As I desperately looked around my kitchen, I saw the garden out the window. There were at least a handful of cherry tomatoes ready to be picked and a small zucchini hanging on the vine.
I wasn’t sure if my vision for some garden linguine was going to taste as good as my hungry belly hoped, but I was willing to try. I knew if dinner came out sub-par, there was cereal in the pantry and eggs in the refrigerator. This garden linguine exceeded my expectations. If you have a little kitchen garden, or a kind neighbor that drops off their extras – this is the perfect way to turn them into a quick and tasty meal!
GARDEN LINGUINE
Ingredients:
- 10 ripe cherry tomatos
- 1 small zucchini peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 TB olive oil
- 1 box linguine
- Fresh basil
- Fresh oregano
- Parmesan
- 2 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 Pepper
Directions:
Step 1: Boil large pot of water with 1 teaspoon sea salt. Cook linguine according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water.
Step 2: Wash tomatoes, zucchini, basil and oregano. Pat dry. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, peel and chop zucchini. Peel garlic cloves and mince. Mince basil and oregano.
Step 3: Pour 3 TB of olive oil into a pan and heat over medium low. Place everything in the pan. Slowly cook over medium low heat until zucchini is softened, about 15 minutes. Add 1/4 cup pasta water. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
Step 4: Toss everything together 3/4 of the cooked linguine. 1/4 of the linguine gets pulled aside for my children to have with butter. Top with parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Thanks for reading,
Daniele
