Summer Vegetable Pasta

My mom developed this recipe years ago when she would get fresh Chinese noodles from a client at the office where she worked. My sister and I loved it so much. When she stopped receiving the noodles, she started making the dish with linguine. I haven't had this pasta in years and was reminded of it when a neighbor gave us a HUGE zucchini and yellow squash from her sister's farm.  Just to give you an idea of how big this zucchini was, I used 1/3 of it in this pasta, 1/3 to make 2 big loaves of zucchini bread, and the 1/3 for other recipes!  Here's a picture- keep in mind those bananas are the scale bar and they are average-sized bananas!

I'm so glad I've rediscovered this recipe. The girls were a little leery of the veggies but actually tried them. Pasta is always a hit with them!

Summer Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, cut in half and then thinly sliced
1 - 2 large yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds scooped and discarded, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 - 2 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then cut into 1/4-inch slices
Italian or Greek seasoning
Dill weed
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 pound spaghetti or linguine
lots of Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup to 1 cup or more if you desire), plus extra for serving

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the olive oil.  Add minced garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add onion, squash and zucchini. Season with Italian or Greek seasoning, dill, salt and pepper.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften. May need to put a lid on top of the veggies after a while to allow the steam to help soften.

4. Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.

5. After vegetables have softened and started to brown, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 1 minute.  Add the hot, drained pasta to the pan and stir to combine.  Add the grated Parmesan cheese. Taste to check if salt is needed.

6. Serve with extra Parmesan on top.

Source: my mom :-)