Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream

There is an incredible amount of zucchini coming out of our garden right now, and I'm focused on using it. This means ignoring recipes that call for small quantities of zucchini, turning my attention to making things that can put a real dent in the supply. Enter this simple, garlic-boosted pasta. It uses two pounds of zucchini, and is endlessly adaptable.

Pasta Choices

I used long, slender bucatini pasta this time around, but enjoy this recipe with a wide range of pasta shapes. It's nice with whole wheat pasta, or even some of the alternative lentil noodles. It's particularly good with textured, short pastas because the sauce and garlicky zucchini chunks get caught up in every bite.

Favorite adaptations

Once you have your smashed zucchini sauce and pasta as a foundation, you can take this in a lot of different directions. We've been finishing it off with lots of halved cherry tomatoes plus garlic bread crumbs in place of the sliced almonds. The flavor pop of sweet from the tomatoes alongs with the crunchy crisp of the breadcrumbs is great. Alternately, you can boost the whole situation nutritionally by stirring in a few handfuls of thinly sliced kale that you've massaged with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice. You can also make more Asian-inspired, brothy version by adding more water to the zucchini, add a dollop of favorite curry paste, and use rice noodles. Top with crispy, grilled or oven roasted mushrooms and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Or, simply add a few dollops of pesto to the smashed zucchini sauce to up the summer basil factor.

Other ways to use up zucchini

I like this super quick, sautéed zucchini - similar in spirit to today's recipe, it is also extra garlicky, and you get those nice browned bits where the zucchini hits the pan. You see it pictured over noodles as well, but I often enjoy it over quinoa or farro. And, this one is an oldie (posted in 2010), but these quick pickled zucchini are always nice to have on hand.