Pasta

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Boy With Spaghetti

Artist:  Julius Moser, 1808

linguini with fried zucchini, roasted tomatoe, and a simple egg sauce

utensils

large pot to boil water

wok or large frying pan

baking pan (aluminum foil, optional)

collander

large Spoon

small bowl and fork

large Bowl

ingredients

linguini or another pasta - 1/2 standard package

olive oil

canola oil too if you are using a wok

1 egg

sliced garlic cloves to taste (1-3)

chopped garlic cloves to taste (1-3)

2 chopped zucchinis - your prefered size of slice

4-5 tomatoes, thickly sliced

(proportion according to # of people served)

seasonings

fresh basil or assorted italian herb mixtures such as basil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano

sea salt or regular salt

freshly ground or regular pepper

optional toppings

shredded parmesan, romano, asiago, or brewer's yeast

freshly ground black pepper

procedure

1. preheat your oven to 350.

2. pour a couple of tablespoons of olive in a baking pan.  taking your tomatoe slices one at a time, rub each one on both sides with the oil, also spreading the oil around the baking pan with the tomatoes.  sprinkle with the chopped garlic.  apply seasonings to the tomatoes such as slices of fresh basil (use a clean and sterilized scissors or manicure snipper), any combination of dry seasonings as suggested above, salt and pepper.  place the tomatoes in the oven and roast for about 1/2 hour.

3. beat egg and some olive oil with fork in a small bowl and set aside.

4. boil your water with salt.  about 5 minutes before the tomatoes are done, add linguini and stir.  allow it to boil for the time indicated on the box, stirring occassionally, and then draining in a collander.  if tomatoes go over, not to worry if the slices are thick enough.  or you may prefer the tomatoes even more browned.

5. while your pasta is boiling, heat oil in a wok or large frying pan on medium heat, add sliced garlic and chopped zucchini, stirring regularly.  If you are cooking in a frying pan, you can add sea salt.  your cooking time here will depend partly on how large or small you decide to chop your zucchini pieces.

6. dump pasta in large bowl and stir egg and olive mixture in rapidly with the large spoon and fork.

7. add zucchini and toss.

8. serve on plates, topping with your roasted garlic and tomatoe slices and any additional toppings, salt, or pepper, as desired.

Et voilà !  A beautiful, simple, delicious, and nutricious pasta meal.  Nice with just about any type of wine and a salad.

Courtesy of Wine and Spoon

additional thoughts

pasta is among my favorite simple recipes as you can mix it with so many different vegetables.  A key is less pasta and more vegetables.  And always, always, fresh garlic and olive oil. 

experiment to see how much olive oil or garlic is good for your tastes. 

the egg sauce in this recipe is quick way to achieve a creamier texture and flavor - or fast food cream sauce;  stir it quickly into the hot pasta or you will wind up with something more like the egg drop in egg drop soup. (but don't worry if you do - it's still good!)

additional olive oil is optional.  you may want to stir the pasta first with a little oil on its own, and then the egg sauce.  but if you have enough olive oil in the egg mixture to begin with, you won't need to.

pasta cools quickly, so apply your toppings and serve as soon as it's drained.  everyone ready to eat before it's brought to the table!

- o.s.r.