Brown Buttered Zucchini with Spaghetti

We have been so lucky over the last couple of weeks because friends have kindly offered us their CSA shares while they are on vacation (thanks Beth and Leticia!). Such bounty! The shares have included broccoli, onions, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, green beans, and zucchini. And not those gigantic zucchini, either, but nice small tender ones.

It is wonderful to have such an abundance of riches. Of course I still like my weekly jaunts to the farmers' market, although lately I have mostly been buying fruit, and we have hauled in some goodies from our farm garden, too. We've been eating like crazy to keep up with it all. Anything for the cause.

It does create a challenge, though, to keep presenting the great produce in a way that keeps the kiddies interested. I'm suspecting that one of these days there will be a big groan when they see that dish of pasta with tomatoes, garlic, and basil, which has become one of our quick weeknight meals. 

To jazz up the zucchini, I toasted some bread crumbs in butter, and added zucchini that was cut into thin julienne slices and cooked in brown butter. The result was a crunchy, nutty-flavored pasta dish that everyone loved. Well they all ate it anyway. Chloe, who usually is a fan of zucchini, bread, butter, and pasta in other combinations, separated out the zucchini from her pasta. I still can't predict what she will and won't eat. But at least it used up a bunch of zucchini and the rest of us thought it was delicious.

Second helping: Smoky Deviled Eggs

Brown Buttered Zucchini with Spaghetti

This dish is best the day it is made because the bread crumbs will be crunchy and play nicely off the softness of the zucchini. Leftovers will lose a bit of the crunch.

Serves 6
15 minutes preparation time
30 minutes cooking time

5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/2 cups fresh coarse bread crumbs, preferably homemade*
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium zucchini, julienned
1 pound spaghetti

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the bread crumbs and toss them until they are completely coated in the butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they have deepened in color and are crisp, about 10 minutes. Pour them into a large bowl and add the garlic, parmesan, parsley, and salt.

Wipe out the pan you used for the bread crumbs (no sense getting another pan dirty).  Return the pan to medium heat and add the remaining butter. Let it cook for about about 2 minutes, just until it begins to brown. Add the zucchini and saute until the zucchini is tender and the butter is browned and smells nutty, about 5 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt the water generously, add the pasta and cook until al dente. When the pasta has cooked, drain it and toss it immediately with the bread crumbs and zucchini.Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

* To make bread crumbs, whirl a few pieces of crusty bread in a food processor until they are finely chopped. I like them to be a bit coarse or a variety of sizes because I think they make the texture more interesting, but you can whirl them longer if you'd like to make them finer.

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Comments

[Beth]

Yum! Now I just need to figure out how to julienne a bunch of pattypan squash, which I absolutely need to use up pronto. Julienning something round might be more than I'm up for...I may resort to dicing :)

[Tomo]

Glad to see you back -- and with such a lovely story of your summer.
Thanks,
Mom