A farewell to summer: creamy fettuccini with caramelized and charred zucchini
a summer vegetable in all it's glory + comforting pasta + side note
As of September 22, we are officially into the Autumn season of 2023. While that brings many delightful ingredients into the kitchen, it is also a goodbye to the gorgeous summer produce. I’m always the most sad to loose juicy tomatoes bursting with that quintessential flavor of summer. And while zucchini may sometimes drive me mad when it is overabundant, part of me still misses it when the season is over.
Yes, I know that in the ultra transportation world we live in, we have access to unseasonable produce at any given time. But truly, nothing compares to local and seasonal produce when it comes to freshness and flavor.
As I pull myself into Autumn, adorning slightly warmer clothes, I decided to say farewell to summer by creating a zucchini-forward pasta dish last week. I wanted the zucchini to shine and feature it’s authentic flavors, rather than hide it into something else. I decided to prepare a simple pasta dish.
Speaking of Pasta - a side note:
Have you had a chance to try out my greens-inspired pasta from spring?
Spaghetti carbonara by is looking pretty scrumptious to me!
I can’t wait to make it and devour it!
(Back to the summer farewell.) I chopped the zucchini in halves and then smaller pieces so it could have maximal surface area with the pan. On low-medium heat, I added generous amounts of olive oil, all of the zucchini, a good amount of dried rosemary, and salt. I mixed this thoroughly and let the heat do its things for ~10 mins. It was difficult but I exercised proper restraint and did not touch the pan to mix the zucchini this entire time. I wanted it to cook slowly so it can get charred and caramelized to develop interesting flavors. Then I stirred it and let it cook for 5 more mins.
While I was trying my hardest not to stir the zucchini, I focused my attention on the pasta. I boiled some fettuccini as per the package instructions in salted water. Simultaneously, I worked on a simple roux for the creamy sauce. I melted 2 tbsp of butter in a new pan on low-medium heat, added 2 tbsp of all purpose flour, and constantly stirred this to ensure all of the flour had been absorbed by the butter. I continued stirring and cooking this for another 2-3 mins and then added ~1 cup of milk to make a thick roux sauce, along with some nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. I cooked this for 4-5 mins until the milk heated up and combined properly into a sauce. I ended up adding ~0.5 cups of pasta water to thin out the sauce a bit. At this stage, one can also melt in their favorite cheese. But I opted not to so I could keep the dish focused on the flavors of zucchini. I mixed the drained al dente fettuccini into the sauce.
I served this by plating the fettuccini into a bowl and then adding a lot of zucchini on top. Both the pasta and the charred zucchini were looking pretty inviting to me at this point. I decided that I would like some cheese after all, but one that wouldn’t take away from the zucchini but rather enhance it for contrast and flavor. Luckily I had some goat cheese in the fridge and added a small amount on top. For the side, I made a quick cucumber avocado tomato salad. For dessert, I cut up last of the summer mangoes that were ripening on my windowsill.
I must say I was pretty pleased with how this turned out. The charred and caramelized zucchini was both summery and complex and paired beautifully with a simple creamy pasta. And while I’m sad the summer is gone, I’m pretty excited for the autumn vegetables that are going to turn into comfort dishes and hearty soups and stews.
How did you say farewell to the summer season?
Dish Debrief
Is this my winner or disaster? winner
How would I rate this dish out of 10? 9 out of 10
What would I change next time? I’m not sure. What do you think? It was quite tasty, but I’m always experimenting to make my dishes even better.
Would I make this again? oh yes
This is a GREAT recipe for using up the last of the summer zucchini. I love how you charred and caramelized the zucchini to bring out its flavor. The creamy pasta and the goat cheese sound like a perfect match. I wanna try it? Yes for sure! Thanks for sharing!