Home Recipes30 Minute Dinner Recipes Zucchini, Tomato and Basil Linguine

Zucchini, Tomato and Basil Linguine

by Jamie

I absolutely adore this time of year, don’t you?  The weather is so golden and lovely. The produce…amazing. I am enjoying it even more than I usually do because (wonder of all wonders) I actually grew my very own basil plant.

Right in my backyard.

Hot dang. 🙂

The Zucchini, Tomato and Basil Linguine recipe I have to share with you today is my latest attempt at using this fabulous herb (and my small crop of zucchini and tomatoes). It’s super fresh tasting and very easy to put together. My girls and I devoured it, loving the combination of  garden fresh tomatoes, basil and Parmesan. I have to be honest, my boys weren’t thrilled with it. I could hardly feel bad about that fact, considering it left more for me. 🙂 It lends itself to be loved by a more mature pallet, let it be known. You may want to avoid serving it to a pack of starving football players. Just FYI. It’s more of a fresh from the garden, healthy tasting kind of thing.

It could be served as a stand alone dish, or would be wonderful as a side to this fabulous Grilled Chicken  or this amazing Balsamic Grilled Flank Steak.

PS…make this for the starving football players.

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Zucchini, Tomato and Basil Linguine
PRINT RECIPE

Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

***Note: This recipe is best with tomatoes fresh from the garden, from a farmers market or from the grocery store purchased still on the vine. The sweeter the tomatoes, the better it is.***

1 medium zucchini
2 cloves garlic
1 Tb butter
1 Tb olive oil
half (16 ounce) box linguine noodles
salt and pepper
2-3 C grape or cherry tomatoes (or 3 large garden fresh tomatoes)
5 Tb fresh basil, chopped
1 C Parmesan cheese, grated

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1. Grab one medium zucchini.

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Remove the ends and chop it into 1/2 inch pieces.

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2. Mince 2 cloves of garlic.

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3. Heat a large deep skillet up over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the butter has melted and the oil is hot add the zucchini and garlic. Don’t add any salt and pepper yet, gang. It will make the zucchini a bit too juicy.

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Cook the zucchini over medium high heat until it’s crisp tender and some of the pieces have a dark sear on them. This will really add to the flavor of the dish.

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4. Fill a medium-sized sauce pan with hot water and bring it to a boil. Add a bit of salt and cook half of a 1 pound box of pasta according to the package directions.

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5. When the zucchini is tender (should only take about 7-8 minutes) sprinkle it with some salt and pepper add the cooked pasta.

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6. Grab 2-3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes and add them to the skillet. You could even use regular, full size tomatoes. Just chop them up into bite size pieces. The more tomatoes you add, the better this dish gets. 🙂 If you are purchasing regular tomatoes (as opposed to cherry or grape tomatoes) from the grocery store, try to buy tomatoes that are still on the vine. They have the most flavor.

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7. Toss in about 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

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8. Grab a bunch of gorgeous basil (I used about 15 leaves), chop it into small pieces…

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and toss it into the skillet. Give everything a nice stir. Taste it and add more salt, pepper and cheese to your liking.

Zucchini, Tomato and Basil Linguine

Serve and enjoy!

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Looking for additional ways to use fresh basil? Here are a few recipes from my archives…

cscwbp

Crispy Skillet Chicken with Bruschetta Pasta

Classic Bruschetta from Jamie Cooks It UpClassic Bruschetta 

Bruschetta Chicken and Pasta Salad from Jamie Cooks It Up!!Bruschetta Chicken and Pasta Salad

 

Leave a Comment

1 comment

Erin R. September 5, 2014 - 2:23 pm

Ha ha! Yes, this is total woman food. And high five on the basil plant! I have killed about four or five of the darned things and haven’t dared try again.

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