One of the things I love about eating in the summer is the ability to throw together quick, healthy dishes using fresh, local ingredients. I’m especially fond of one skillet meals which take only minutes to prepare, leaving more time to go outside and play in my gardens.  We’ll call this particular recipe a variation on a theme, and I’ll show you how you can change it up, depending on the ingredients you have on hand.

The dish revolves around whole wheat pasta, seasonal vegetables, and some type of protein.  By changing the veggies and protein, the dish can be completely transformed. The version I give below is rather Italian.  Early this fall I might go with squash, arugula, sage, and goat cheese. Another fall combo is carrots, Brussels sprouts, pancetta or bacon, and pecorino cheese. In the spring you could go with fettuccine, asparagus, parsley, and Gorgonzola. I’ve even been known to use eggs as my protein, but cheese is my favorite. Some of the fresh cheese I make includes chèvre, mozzarella, and queso blanco.  We’ll talk about cheese at some later date! If you would like something a little heartier, you can use leftover chicken, shrimp, or red meat as your protein. Just remember, the point of this recipe is to be quick, so use leftovers!

Pasta with Summer Vegetables Pesto and Feta
1/2 an onion, roughly chopped or sliced
2 to 4 baby zucchini, halved and sliced lengthwise
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
8 ounces organic whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 to 4 tablespoons pesto
4 ounces feta, cut into cubes
Olive oil for cooking

Once you have your ingredients chopped, sliced, and cubed, assemble them next to your skillet. Cooking will go really fast.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in your skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and cook for about 30 seconds. Next add zucchini and garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add pasta and half the tomatoes and cook for 30 seconds to a minute, or until everything is heated through.  Finally, add pesto, feta, and the last half of the tomatoes.  Stir everything together to thoroughly mix and then pull it off the heat.

Last year the pesto I made for the freezer didn’t make it past December.  This year I promised myself I wouldn’t run out again, so I planted boatloads of basil. The picture to the right is just one of the rows I planted, and I’m still wondering if I planted enough. Over the last couple of weeks my kitchen has smelled divine as I’ve made pounds and pounds of the heavenly condiment.

I’m constantly amazed at the passions invoked by the mere mention of pesto.  Just yesterday I spoke to a wife who told me she can get her husband to do just about anything if she makes him pesto.  I have a friend who told me the cucumber wilt that destroyed my entire crop of cucumber vines in the last week is the payback I’m getting for all of the pesto I’ve been making! Harsh words spoken out of jealousy my dear friend!

I realize the interwebs doesn’t need another pesto recipe, but I’m going to add another one anyway. The proportions for pesto is an age old controversy, and I don’t want to step on any one’s toes. Ultimately, I think we should make food we enjoy, and that cooking is about preparing food to suit our individual tastes. This is the way I like my pesto, but you should change the proportions to suit your own taste. If you love garlic, throw in a few more cloves. If your bank account is larger than mine, feel free to double the quantity of pine nuts. To be honest, each batch of pesto I make is probably different. I tend to taste as I go, and then do things like throw in an extra handful or two of Parmesan or nuts.  I should also mention that when basil becomes scarce, I make pesto from other herbs and nuts.  In the early spring, I’m able to grow arugula weeks before anything else is available. It makes a wonderful peppery pesto combined with whatever nuts I happen to have on hand. Cilantro also makes a fantastic pesto. If pine nuts are beyond your pocketbook, use walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds.  One of my favorite nuts to use is pistachios. In the late fall, one of my favorite pesto combinations is arugula, sage, and pumpkin seeds to be served over pumpkin ravioli.

Pesto
12 ounces basil leaves (or my gargantuan stainless bowl filled loosely)
3 to 4 oz Parmesan cheese
4 to 6 garlic cloves
2 to 4 oz pine nuts
1 cup or more extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Rinse and dry basil.  I use a Salad Spinner, and it makes quick work of cleaning and drying greens and herbs.  It’s one of my must-have kitchen tools. Another tool I use on an almost daily basis is this  Cuisinart food processor, which was a Christmas gift from my little sister.

Combine basil, cheese, garlic, and nuts in food processor. Turn on processor and slowly pour olive oil into mixture until the pesto reaches the desired consistency. I tend make my pesto on the thick side for storage. Later, while cooking, I will alter the consistency with more olive oil to suit the recipe I’m working with.

To store pesto for winter use, I freeze it into cubes in ice cube trays. Once frozen I transfer the cubes to dated and labeled freezer bags.

Last week I promised a recipe for the pasta verde made with the chlorophyll I showed you how to extract.  This pesto pasta salad is what I made to take to a 4th of July family reunion.  Before I give you the recipe, I hope you’ll humor me while I wax nostalgic for a moment.

I’ve been attending this annual picnic since I was 12 years old.  The side of my family involved is my paternal grandmother’s.  There were originally 8 kids, but this year we’re down to the last 3 siblings.   The two youngest are 79 and 80, and my grandma is the eldest at 93.  I know our culture worships youth and beauty, but thanks to my grandma I’ve come to realize there is a certain beauty and youthfulness to old age.  Isn’t my grandma beautiful!

OK, on to our recipe. All measurements are approximate. Feel free to increase, decrease, substitute, or omit anything you like (or don’t like).

Pesto Pasta Salad
1 pound fresh or frozen pasta verde
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup Kalamata olives
1 to 1 1/2 cups feta cheese, cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup pine nuts
Basil for garnishing

Pesto Dressing
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
1/8 cup pesto
Salt to taste

Whisk oil, vinegar, and pesto together. Season to taste. Toss dressing together with pasta, tomatoes, olives, and cheese. Sprinkle pine nuts over top of salad and garnish with basil.

At my youngest son’s request, I also made a strawberry cake for the picnic.  I’ll post a recipe for the cake later this week.  Would you be able to refuse a request from a face like this?