Summer Pasta

by Laura Frerichs, Tastemaker in Residence

This is a summer go-to dish in the Loon kitchen. It’s fast, versatile, tasty, and makes for great lunch leftovers the next day. The ingredient list is flexible—just sub whatever veggies you have on hand to make a nice mix.

Ingredients
1⁄2 pound pasta noodles or spaghetti (we like penne, spiral or bow-tie noodles)
3 Tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves
1 medium onion or 1 bunch scallions
1⁄2 pound green or purple beans
3-4 small to medium carrots (optional) 
1 zucchini or summer squash (if have) 
2 Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers (long, red skinny)
1 large bell pepper or 2 Italian sweet peppers (red, orange, yellow or green in color) 
1 Globe eggplant or 2 Japanese eggplants
1 lg or 2 med tomatoes
1⁄4 of a savoy cabbage, thinly sliced OR 1⁄4 pound of arugula or sub kale, chard, collards
1⁄4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Feta or fresh goat cheese (optional) 
Minced basil or other fresh herb

Instructions

1. Boil the water for pasta.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Chop the onion or white and light green parts of the scallions, along with the garlic and add to olive oil. Sauté garlic/onions for a couple minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic and scallion mixture. Add chopped carrot and eggplant to skillet, sautéing for a few minutes while you chop up the zucchini/summer squash and sweet peppers. Snap the ends of the beans off and chop in half. Add zucchini, sweet peppers and beans to the skillet and sauté for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add diced tomatoes and greens (arugula, kale etc.) and cook until greens are wilted and tender and tomatoes have cooked down and released some of their juices—5-10 minutes. Season again to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Add pasta to boiled water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and combine pasta and veggies in a large bowl. Toss with more olive oil, freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and fresh minced basil or other herb. Add pesto, if desired or goat or feta cheese.