Tag Archives: summer pasta recipe

Cook’s Ilustrated’s Easier, Faster Version of Stanley Tucci’s Spaghetti with Zucchini (Plus Winner of the Food Gal Giveaway)

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So thankful to come across an easier yet equally delicious version of this Stanley Tucci favorite.
So thankful to come across an easier yet equally delicious version of this Stanley Tucci favorite.

You may not remember that last year I made Stanley Tucci’s famed “Spaghetti Con Zucchine Alla Nerano,” the captivating dish spotlighted on his CNN show, “Searching for Italy,” and in his memoir, “Taste: My Life Through Food.”

But I sure do. How could I forget every minute of carefully frying batch after batch of zucchini slices in a big pot of oil over a hot stove in summer for what seemed an interminable hour?

Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely adored the resulting pasta dish. But I haven’t made it since, even though, I’ve longed for its taste again. Heck, can you blame me?

That’s why I’m so happy to have discovered Cook’s Illustrated’s version that I could have hugged and never let go of its 2022 July/August issue that it published in.

In this rendition, there no deep-frying involved. Let me repeat that: No. Deep. Frying.

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Stanley Tucci’s Spaghetti con Zucchine alla Nerano

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One of Stanley Tucci's favorite pasta dishes.
One of Stanley Tucci’s favorite pasta dishes.

If the lusty comments from my gal pals are any indication, I’m definitely not the only one obsessed with Stanley Tucci’s CNN travel show, “Searching for Italy.”

Or with Stanley Tucci, himself, for that matter. (Hey, I’m just keeping it real.)

So, it’s probably no surprise that the food on the show has proved equally enthralling.

Ever since seeing the episode featuring Lo Scoglio’s zucchini pasta, I’ve been so intrigued with this specialty dish of this Amalfi Coast restaurant that’s a favorite of Tucci and his wife Felicity.

I like zucchini, but I can’t say it’s ever captured my fancy enough to get all excited about when it first starts appearing at farmers markets in summer. I mean, it’s no asparagus. Not by a long shot.

So, with just Parmigiano, basil, olive oil, and fried zucchini as the main components in this pasta, how good could this really be?

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Grated Fresh Tomato Spaghetti with Anchovies

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Tomatoes two ways -- grated and whole cherry ones -- are featured in this easy pasta dish.
Tomatoes two ways — grated and whole cherry ones — are featured in this easy pasta dish.

Summer is not the time you want to replicate grandma’s hours-simmered ragu sauce.

No, summer is when you want a tomato sauce that comes together in a snap that still boasts that glorious fresh tomato zing.

“Grated Fresh Tomato Spaghetti with Anchovies” is just that dish.

It’s from the new cookbook, “Simple Beautiful Food: Recipes and Riffs for Everyday Cooking” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Amanda Frederickson, a former cook at San Francisco’s Michelin-starred SPQR, who went on to become a recipe developer, test kitchen cook, and cookbook writer for Williams-Sonoma.

The cookbook includes more than 100 recipes very much attuned to Northern California sensibilities, with dishes such as “Smoked Trout Hash,” “Peanut Soba with Chicken and Mint,” “Broiled Halibut with Citrus Salsa,” and “Fruit Salad with Limoncello and Whipped Mascarpone Cheese.”

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No-Cook Tomato Sauce Pasta For The Scorching Days of Summer

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Beat the heat with this fresh, no-cook tomato sauce with basil and mozzarella over pasta.
Beat the heat with this fresh, no-cook tomato sauce with basil and mozzarella over pasta.

When it’s way too hot to contemplate cooking most anything, and your gardening-goddess friend Annie gifts you a bushel of home-grown tomatoes, what do you do?

You make “No-Cook Tomato Sauce Pasta.” And thank the stars that you did.

This recipe comes from Bon Appetit magazine. But I tweaked it a little by making enough sauce to coat not 12 ounces of spaghetti, but 1 pound, so it can serve four easily. I also added in a generous handful of diced whole-milk mozzarella to go with all the fresh, torn basil leaves.

Thanks to my friend Annie with the super green thumb.
Thanks to my friend Annie with the super green thumb.

The result is a fresh, bright tasting pasta that comes together in a cinch and tastes every bit like a Caprese salad with noodles.

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Summer’s All Right With Beach House Pasta with Shrimp & Grilled Limes

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A load of grilled shrimp accent this easy pasta dish.

A load of grilled shrimp accent this easy pasta dish.

 

Even if you don’t have a beach house — yeah, that would be me, too — you’ll find yourself kicking back with pleasure when you dig into this dish.

“Beach House Pasta with Shrimp and Grilled Limes” is from the new cookbook, “Food52 Any Night Grilling” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Austin cookbook author Paula Disbrowe and the Food52 team.

As the name implies, the book includes 60 grilling recipes easy enough to make any night of the week. There’s a primer on gas versus charcoal, basic information on setting up your grill, and judging its heat.

Enjoy everything from “Crispy Greek Pies with Dandelion & Feta” and “Grilled Branzino with Thai Basil Butter” to “Smoky Tomato & Red Lentil Soup” to “Tipsy Chicken with Smoky Pan Drippings.”

Food52AnyNightGrilling

With this shrimp pasta, I know what you’re thinking: Why start up the grill just for cooking some shrimp and a few limes when making pasta?

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