(Im)Patiently Waiting for Summer - Summer Squash Pasta Salad Time!

With spring in the air a new host of fresh vegetables and herbs is available. Here in Los Feliz the neighbors have taken to landscaping with a friendly mix of herbs, fruits and vegetables. Rather than spend a fortune on rosemary, chives, citrus…etc. We take a stroll down Finley Ave to chat with the neighbors and return home with our hands full!

To make good use of our fresh finds I whipped up an inviting summer salad and herb infused grilled flat bread (more on that later).

Zucchini and Pasta Salad

Prep: 10 minutes

Cooking: 20 minutes

2 or 3 medium sized Zucchini

1 Yellow Squash

1 White Italian Squash

1 yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ package of cherub tomatoes, halved

½ cup fresh grated parmesan

olive oil

½ cup white wine

2 tbl honey

3 springs fresh rosemary

pasta or egg noodles

Sea Salt/Pepper

Large salad/mixing bowl

Cook your noodles first so you can strain and let them cool a little bit before adding them to your salad.

Cook the onions garlic and rosemary in a healthy amount of olive oil until the onions begin to wilt. Once things are really sizzling add the white wine and honey. Let this mixture cook for a few minutes until the onions are translucent and take on a really rich flavor from the wine and honey. Pour the onion/garlic mixture into your salad bowl, leaving some of the liquid in your pan to cook the squash. Add some black pepper to the onions and let them rest uncovered.

 Next, add the squash to your hot, oiled pan. Squash should be cut into ½ pieces. If the pan is too dry, add some oil to keep things from sticking, not too much though as you want your squash to brown a little bit, not drown in oil.  Hopefully you were able to reserve a decent amount of the liquid from the onions to cook your squash so they will pick up some of the rich flavor from the honey/wine mixture.

Once the squash are fully cooked add them to your resting onions, add your tomatoes and Parmesan and then toss the veggies together before adding your noodles. Stir the noodles in with a wooden spoon to keep from breaking them apart. Wait until the last step to add your salt as you might find that the combination of tomatoes cheese and wine does the trick!

This recipe is delicious served both hot and cold. I like to refrigerate it for a couple of hours to let the flavors really come together.