7.14.2009

Whole Wheat Pasta with Summer Squash & Toasted Hazelnuts



The summer squash season is fairly long and I have copious ideas and recipes to work my way through. First up is this simple pasta dish. It is ideal for a weeknight meal and makes great leftovers (which I have thoroughly enjoyed for lunch the last two days). Feel free to swap out your favorite pasta and if you are not a fan of hazelnuts, try pine nuts instead.



Whole Wheat Pasta
with Summer Squash & Toasted Hazelnuts
inspired by Gourmet . serves 4

10 oz whole-wheat pasta
3 T olive oil
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
1 large yellow squash, diced (or 2 pattypan)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 t salt
1 t black pepper

1/2 c toasted chopped hazelnuts, skins rubbed off (or pine nuts)
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
parmesan cheese, shaved, to taste



In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain, and transfer to a serving bowl.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, then add shallot, stirring. Sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini, yellow squash, lemon, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the serving bowl with pasta. Stir in nuts, parsley and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and top with shaved parmesan.

22 comments:

melinda said...

this looks so good. i love squash and lately can't get enough of it. i will defiantly be adding this to our meal plan.

→lisa said...

oh my! This looks incredible.

I turned by bf on to whole wheat pasta, which he thought was just some hippie health food thing that probably tasted nasty. He likes it now too! Will definitely be trying this one.

Oh, and we had the cannellini beans & greens over the weekend, and it turned out great! I ended up playing it safe with collard greens. It got off to a bumpy start after burning the garlic (and my arm!), and I had to start over - but it turned out really yummy. I used white wine vinegar because I didn't have sherry vinegar, I'm not sure how different they are. It's a very tasty dish, one I plan on making again, for sure :)

Lynne said...

Mmmm. You post the nicest recipes. This looks delicious, nutritious and easy. I love to eat well, but I just don't have the time to spend on fussy recipes, so recipes like this one are a dream come true for me. Thank you. Not just for this one, but for all the others too :-)

Dana said...

I'll have to give this a try. I've only tried whole wheat pasta a couple of times but haven't loved it. Maybe with some other things I love I would like it better.

LK said...

I get really stuck in a rut for things to go with pasta, so very excited by this, it sounds delicious and relatively easy - I think I've seen UK grown squash on sale recently as well, so it's perfect. I think I will be trying this out this week!

Cookie Cutter said...

For a person who does pasta the boring and lazy way all the time (with tomato paste), this sounds surprisingly simple and refreshing to me. What's more, it looks good!

Mariss said...

That looks delicious! I have to find a whole wheat pasta that I like. It's been a few years since I tried one that I didn't like very much, but think the ones they have out there are much better now!

Thanks for the great recipe :)

kara said...

mmmm...sounds yummy- needed a great new summer recipe! Gonna pick up some squash at the farmers market tomorrow!

Sprouted Kitchen said...

so yummy, love hazlenuts. It'd even be good without the pasta as a salad. There is definitely plenty of squash out!

eatme_delicious said...

Mmm this sounds like a delicious simple dinner. I imagine the hazelnuts add a wonderful flavour and crunch! I love having a bit of crunch in my meals.

ELK said...

thank you for a wonderful sounding and looking meal...i enjoy your space here!

Rachel said...

Looks wonderful! I'm always looking for new ways to use up the summer squash bounty. Would definitely have to sub pine nuts for hazelnuts in our household.

tara said...

I adore nuts paired with whole wheat pasta; the flavours complement each other so well. Looks delicious and summery.

escapade said...

Oh wow - this looks divine! I love the texture of nuts with pasta

celine said...

Thank you for sharing this recipe! I've been staring longingly at the squash and zucchini at the farmer's markets for days now, wishing I could take them home but not knowing what to do with them. I'm so trying this, probably with pine nuts because that's what I have in the cupboard.

leslie said...

YUMMY! You never fail to inspire me in the kitchen!!!
thank you.

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

sounds delicious!

Jennyjen said...

Oooh, this looks yummilicious. Beautiful combination of flavors with the squash & hazelnuts--can't wait to make this.

Anonymous said...

This looks SO delicious. Thank you for stopping by my blog. I have been a long-time proponent of eating organic and local, but it still is amazing what more mindfulness with food has done.

Celia said...

hmm... too bad i can't eat this blog. thanks for checking out my blog! your recipes look amazing! i'll make sure to feature you this sunday for my "sunday recipe" post. :)

Amy said...

just made this recipe last night - it was super easy and very delicious! (even without the nuts - which i totally forgot to add in!)

today i packed leftovers for lunch :)

Jenna said...

Wow. This looks amazing! I am printing it off :)