| CLASSIC pasta | verdure | |||
|
|
Here are several of our favorite vegetable dishes: that we frequently have when we have pasta as a main course (often). These are simple to do, using few ingredients, but the combination always provides a delightful taste treat. green beans with parsley and garlic ingredients:
(serves about four) Cook the green beans in a large pot of salted, boiling water, until they are just tender. About four minutes. They should still be crisp. Drain. Put one tablespoon of olive oil in the pot. Add the garlic. Cook over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle. Return the beans to the pot. Add the lemon zest and juice. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Stir well. Add the a teaspoon of salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the chopped parsley and stir again, making sure the beans are well coated. Serve hot right away. zucchini and oregano
This is the first of three superb zucchini recipes, the first two adapted from Marcella (see library!). To Marcella, and many others, zucchini is that wonderful, perfect "fall-back" vegetable ( or frequently, a part of a fabulous pasta sauce). One can't have great zucchini too often, especially when young, fresh, small zucchini, direct from the farm, are available. Try these. Simple doesn't adequately explain it. Fabulous to taste -- that does. Ingredients (for oregano):
Soak the zucchini in cold water for fifteen minutes. Rub the zucchini dry, getting rid of all the dirt and roughness. Trim off the ends. If we have the small-diameter zucchini, we just slice them as thin as possible. If we are dealing with large zucchini, we will cut them in half and then slice them; or sometimes, we will cube the zucchini into quarter-inch squares. Place the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it sizzles. Add the zucchini and, probably best with a slotted spoon, turn over the slices until they are all coated with oil. Add a teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Toss some more. Then add the oregano, and toss again. Continue cooking until the sliced zucchini are the degree of doneness that you like. (We like some crispness or firmness -- other like softer). Spoon the zucchini onto paper towels on a plate, to get rid of some of the oil. Serve. zucchini with onions ingredients:
Soak the zucchini in cold water for fifteen minutes. Rinse under a stream of cold water, scrubbing as you go. Slice the zucchini into very thin rounds. Put the butter and oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, and let the butter melt. Add the onions and cook slowly, stirring now and then, until the onions are soft and starting to turn a little golden. Add the zucchini and stir and toss with a slotted spoon until the onions and zucchini are mixed. Add a teaspoon of salt. Cook over a medium heat, tossing and stirring occasionally, until the zucchini are at the level of doneness, or firmness, you like. Taste for salt and serve. zucchini with garlic and lemon
ingredients:
Soak the zucchini in cold water for fifteen minutes. Rinse under a stream of cold water, scrubbing as you go. Slice the zucchini into very thin rounds. Put the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to sizzle. Add the zucchini and, probably best with a slotted spoon, turn over the slices until they are all coated with oil. Add a teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Toss some more. Cook over a medium heat, tossing and stirring occasionally, until the zucchini are at the level of doneness, or firmness, you like. Add the lemon zest and juice. Toss and cook another thirty seconds or so. Add the chopped basil, toss once more, and serve. zucchini with garlic, onion and mint Here is a slightly different riff to the zucchini recipe above. In this one we dice the zucchini and add some red pepper flakes. Slightly different in preparation, but a different taste results. ingredients
Wash the zucchini in cold water. Cut off the ends, and then dice the zucchini into squares, one-quarter to one-half inch. Heat one and a half tablespoons of the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and thirty seconds later add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent, about two minutes. Add the zucchini and the red pepper flakes, and cook until the zucchini squares are just tender, but still with some firmness. (Note: this is a personal preference. We like the zucchini with some firmness. However, if you like them soft, continue cooking until the squares just start to brown). Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice, a half teaspoon of salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Then add the mint or basil and stir a touch more.
|
|||
