Pasta With Fresh Zucchini Sauce

Zucchini dishes for me, are reserved typically for the summer time. I remember growing up, my mom's garden produced some giant zucchinis. We would eat several meals off one of them. My mom would make all kinds of different things with the abundance of Zucchini, but one thing I always remember is her stuffed zucchini. It looked literally like a zucchini boat filled full of a hamburger/rice mixture topped with some kind of Swiss cheese, it was delicious but really doesn't have the same effect with the tiny ones found at the local stores. 

These days, my zucchini finds are restricted to supermarkets and farmers markets but I don't think I've seen such colossal zucchinis since being a child in my mother's garden. They are usually much smaller then what I had been used to. Nonetheless, they are tasty and by being the "baby versions" their skin is usually very tender.

I've had the recipe for this sauce in my files for a long time. I believe my sister was the one that gave it to me many years ago. It is a wonderful, light tasting sauce that is perfect for the summer months. The original recipe called for all mascarpone, but I decided to lighten it just a tiny bit by replacing some of it with light cream cheese. The taste was still just as good, and I actually really liked the little hint of tartness the cream cheese lends to the dish. The recipe also calls for diced prosciutto* which is a wonderful addition in this dish but if you would like to keep this a vegetarian meal you can leave it out and still be left with a fantastic tasting pasta sauce. The key to this sauce is to reserve a little bit of your pasta water and add it when tossing the pasta with the sauce since it can tighten up too much otherwise.

I served this recipe over Angel hair pasta since I had it on hand, but any other pasta would just be as delicious. I have also served it over whole wheat pasta before and it was also very good. A little simple side salad with a vinegar based vinaigrette completed this wonderful summer meal for us. If Zucchini is your "thing" as well, I hope you'll give this sauce a try!


*I love the taste of prosciutto in this dish but have made it before using pancetta or bacon which I cooked prior to adding them.

Pasta With Fresh Zucchini Sauce
(serves 4-6)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound zucchini, diced
1/4 cup water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
5 ounces Mascarpone cheese
3 ounces light cream cheese
3 ounces Prosciutto, finely diced
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
12 ounces Pasta, cooked and drained
2-3 tablespoons reserved pasta water (optional)

Preparation:

In a large pan cook onions in olive oil until tender for about 5 minutes, add garlic and cook for an additional minute making sure not to burn it. Add Zucchini, water and vegetable bouillon cube. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Add mascarpone and cream cheese and cook on low heat until melted. Add the prosciutto, taste for seasonings. Add pasta to the sauce and toss lightly. Add reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if desired. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Tiramisu

 

What better way to enjoy strawberry season then with copious amounts of great berry recipes. I'm always on the lookout for new and innovative dishes, so when I found this one for Strawberry Tiramisu I was hooked from the get go.  I mean, what is not to love? Tiramisu is one of my all time favorite desserts, and remaking this classic with the addition of beautiful juicy strawberries was all I needed to keep myself from drooling.

This recipe has a few layers, but comes together quickly once all the different components are good to go. Ladyfingers and strawberries are the main players in this dish but they are greatly enhanced by the filling of mascarpone and cream. This recipe calls for Grand Marnier in almost every layer which absolutely makes the dish extraordinary. The liqueur definitely turns this into an adult only dessert so if you don't mind the alcohol, don't skip it. However, if you wanted to serve this to children and adults alike you could certainly replace the alcohol with additional orange juice.

This is an amazing flavor experience that was greatly enjoyed by everyone that tried this dish. I hope you'll give this a try at your home as well.

Strawberry Tiramisu

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups strawberry preserves

2 tablespoons plus an additional 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, divided

1/3 cup orange juice

8 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 - 1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, divided and washed

1 package (about 24) crisp ladyfingers

Directions:

Whisk preserves, 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, and orange juice in 2 cup measuring cup. 

Place mascarpone cheese and 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier in large bowl; fold just to blend. 

Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, vanilla, and remaining 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier in another large bowl to soft peaks.

Stir 1/4 of whipped cream mixture into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream.

Hull and slice half of the strawberries. Spread 1/2 cup preserve mixture over bottom of 9-inch square serving dish. Arrange enough lady fingers over preserve mixture to cover bottom of dish.  Spoon 3/4 cup preserve mixture over ladyfingers, then spread half of the mascarpone mixture over. Arrange sliced strawberries over mascarpone mixture. Repeat layering with remaining ladyfingers, preserve mixture, and mascarpone mixture. 

Cover with plastic and chill at least 8 hours or overnight. Slice remaining strawberries. Arrange over tiramisu and serve.

Adapted from: Bon Appetit