I know summer is over, but here in Southern California we still have an abundance of heirloom cherry tomatoes and zucchini. My Skillet Bucatini with Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini continues to highlight these end-of-season ingredients in a quick and easy pasta recipe that makes dinnertime one delicious meal.
Bucatini happens to be my favorite pasta because it has incredible chew due to the hole down the center of each strand. These noodles have great heft — that’s why the easiest way to enjoy them in a skillet recipe is to start by breaking them in half before cooking. The pasta cooks up quickly in the pan, while cherry tomatoes and zucchini are added during cooking, and keep in mind, you may need to add a bit more hot water as you go, especially if the bucatini drinks it up faster than anticipated.
The pasta water not only cooks the noodles, but it becomes the sauce when Asiago cheese is stirred into it. Continuously stirring is the key to creating a thickened sauce, so it coats the bucatini delicately. Just a reminder — this is not alfredo, but a pan sauce — let the ingredients speak for themselves. Plate the pasta in bowls and top with more cheese and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.
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Ingredients
12 ounces bucatini, broken in half
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 tablespoon butter
3 ounces Asiago cheese
olive oil for drizzling
(Serves 2)
To Prepare:
- Add bucatini and 2 1/2 cups water to skillet and place over medium-high heat.
- Continue to stir pasta as it cooks for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and zucchini, stir to incorporate.
- Add butter and continue to stir pasta as it cooks for 3 minutes.
- Shred 2 ounces of cheese over top and continue to stir as it thickens sauce and coats bucatini.
- Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat. Portion into bowls and top with remaining cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy!
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