Summer Squash and Spaghetti (or Linguini)

This recipe taught me to love these extremely abundant, but sometimes extremely bland and slimy summer vegetables that I disliked not so long ago.

½ lb. spaghetti or linguini, cooked
1 cup pasta cooking water

Summer squash – I’ve used zucchini, large patty pans, or yellow crookneck. The latter are my favorite. Slice it as thinly as possible, ideally ¼ to 1/16 of an inch. If the squash is very fat, halve it lengthwise first, and then do the slicing. You may prefer to use a mandolin for the slicing. If you do, you are braver than I.

It is difficult to give a specific amount of the squash you will need. It depends on the size of the squash and the size of the skillet you use. I would guess that it will take 1 to 1 ½ cups.

1 tbsp. olive oil or bacon fat or combination thereof
½ medium-sized onion, sliced as thinly as possible, ideally 1/16 of an inch
3 or 4 garlic cloves sliced, but not as thinly as the onion. You don’t want it to burn.
¼ - ½ cup dry white wine
Dash of red pepper flakes
Any fresh herbs you have handy, torn. I prefer basil, but parsley works well, too.
Salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Locatelli cheese

Sauté the squash, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet with the fat over medium heat. Do not overcrowd the skillet with the squash. It should be in one layer in the bottom of the pan; or in 2 layers, if you must. As much of the squash as possible should have contact with the surface of the pan. When the vegetables begin to soften, season with salt and pepper and stir.

Every few minutes, stir the veggies and pat down into one layer so that everything has an opportunity to cook evenly.

Continue cooking until the squash is golden brown and much of it seems to have melded and melted into the onions. This could take about 7 to 10 minutes.

Switch the heat to low and add the wine, some of the herbs and red pepper flakes. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon so that the wine deglazes any bits that may have gotten stuck. Simmer for 5 – 10 more minutes so the squash absorbs the wine’s flavor and the sauce reduces. Taste for salt and pepper.

When you are satisfied with the seasoning and texture of the sauce and veggies, add the cooked pasta to the pot and combine. This sauce tends to be dry, so add enough of the pasta cooking water you’ve reserved to reach the desired proportion of sauce to pasta. There should be some silky liquid in the pan, but the pasta should not be swimming in it. Stir in the rest of the herbs and let everything get acquainted for a few moments.

Serve in warm bowls and top with grated Locatelli, or other “pasta cheese” and more black pepper.

-Elena