Linguine with Sautéed Zucchini

It’s always nice to make a quick and easy pasta dish on busy days when I feel like cooking, but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I look for ingredients around the house or in the garden to use, and by the time the pasta is cooked, the sauce is ready and dinner is served.

For this dish, I found some beautiful zucchini in our garden, so I decided to keep it simple and only add a few other ingredients. I fry garlic in olive oil to infuse the oil before adding strings of zucchini, which only take a minute or two to cook. Sweet cream sherry and sharp Pecorino Romano cheese give the dish a balance of flavors. The wine and a little of the pasta water create a sauce that coats the strands of linguine and zucchini. Fresh parsley and lots of cheese on top finish the dish. It’s easy and extremely tasty.

Brands I Use:
Taylor Cream Sherry

Substitutes If Needed:
Parmesan for Pecorino Romano cheese

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Linguine with Sautéed Zucchini
pecorino romano + garlic + cream sherry

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
½ lb dry linguine
Salt

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 medium zucchini, julienned (1/2 lb, see Kayla’s notes)
½ cup cream sherry
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons parsley

Directions
Linguine:
Cook the linguine in a large pot of boiling, salted water for a few minutes less than your box’s instructions. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauté pan. Reserve the pasta water.

Zucchini:
Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Smash the garlic clove and add it to the pan, frying on each side until golden brown to infuse the oil. Add the zucchini and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cream sherry and ½ cup of pasta water. Let the liquid reduce for a few minutes before adding the linguine to the pan. Toss the pasta until the sauce has thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pecorino and parsley. Use these ingredients to garnish.

Kayla’s Notes:
In order to get “strings” of zucchini, use a julienne peeler or mandolin. Discard the inner core of seeds.

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Printable version of Linguine with Sautéed Zucchini