Ah, the last of our summer vegetables. As I look across our garden, there are very few vegetables left. A few cherry tomatoes, the last of the peppers, a few scraggly green beans and one lone zucchini. As quickly as we pick our tomatoes, these seem to rot in the house. The last of the eggplant, which was a poor crop, has shriveled and landed in the compost. Sunny days and cool nights mean Fall is officially 5 days away.
Thursday morning, as we were picking through the overly ripe grape tomatoes, Jeff placed the remaining tomatoes (about 60) on a cookie sheet with a little olive oil, some salt and pepper and roasted them for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. "I just don't want to lose anymore tomatoes and this is better than nothing." They smelled delicious coming from the oven. Once they cooled Jeff packaged them into a container and placed them in the refrigerator. "We can use them some time this week."
When I got home from work, I decided I would try and use some of the last of our garden treasures before they, too, ended in the compost. Some onions and zucchini...I was ready to go. I wanted to remember the great tastes of summer and figured I would end the week on a flavorful note.
I filled a large pot with water and set it on the stove to boil for the pasta.
I grabbed:
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped finely
2 yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
and began sauteing them in 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. I allowed the onions to soften and the garlic to get slightly golden about 6-8 minutes.
I added:
2 zucchini, cut in half and sliced
to the onions and garlic. I allowed them to saute for 5-7 minutes and then covered the mixture with a lid for another 5-7 minutes. The pot of water was boiling so I added the orrechiette pasta (1 pound bag). I removed the lid, and then added the roasted grape tomatoes. I stirred the mixture and allowed it to cook for another 10 minutes (once it began to bubble, I lowered the heat for a simmer).
When the orrechiette was ready, I drained it, added 2 tablespoons of butter and then mixed it with the zucchini and tomatoes.
Then I added:
1/2 cup of fresh basil, shredded
1/4 cup of italian flat leaf parsley, chopped loosely
kosher salt and pepper to taste
I took the mixture off the heat and allowed all the flavors to come together. I added about 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and gave it one last stir. Done!
Jeff had just come in from grilling sausages and we were ready to go. It was so nice to savor the flavor of the last few remaining vegetables. The tomatoes were flavorful, the zucchini was delicious and the combination worked to create a great memory from our garden of 2012.
