Pasta with Zucchini and Mint Pesto

Having a prolific garden year?  Up to your shoulders in zucchini?  Pair it with another prolific plant like mint and you are making a delicious headway in your garden.  This Pasta with Zucchini and Mint Pesto will be a recipe you return to year after year.  Post may contain affiliate links.

Pasta with Zucchini and Mint Pesto

Well, it’s about that time of the year.  That time of the year when you get a little teary-eyed when you see more summer squash.  I don’t mean teary-eyed from excitement.  I mean teary-eyed from bone-numbing weariness at trying to figure out another tasty thing to do with them.  You’d like to just discretely toss them in the compost pile, but you sigh, realizing that you haven’t quite reached the end of your rope yet.  Yet.

You want something easy.  It has to be easy.  You are not willing to commit too much time and effort to this, because in the back of your mind you know that you may be facing more of it in the very near future.  It’s way in the back of your mind, a more of a tomorrow-is-another-day type of thought.

So, you turn to Donna Hay, because if anyone can do easy, with minimal effort, but lots of flavor, it’s her.  If you’re me, you subscribed to her magazine from way back and have a bookshelf filled with her mags, or you have her magazines effortlessly on your iPad.

I found this in her magazine issue #52, which is the Aug/Sep 2010 issue.  Unfortunately that is before her Ipad app was around, but if anything it should reinforce the need to have that app, so you don’t miss any future goodies!

This was perfect.  It was quick and easy.  It was flavorful.  And again, it reminds me of another pesto that I can make and store away in the freezer – mint!

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5 from 1 vote

Pasta with Zucchini and Mint Pesto

The perfect way to use up a surplus of summer zucchini, yellow squash and mint!  Your family will love this Pasta with Zucchini and Mint Pesto

Course Main Course

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 693kcal

Author Pam Greer

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 5 zucchini sliced (I used yellow summer squash)
• 3/4 cup single pouring cream
• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• finely grated parmesan and mint leaves to serve

Mint Pesto

• 1/3 cup mint finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese finely grated
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, per directions.
• To make the mint pesto, combine the mint, pine nuts, cheese, oil and lemon juice and set aside. (Instead of chopping everything as called for in the ingredients list, I just put mine in my mini processor and processed until it was slightly chunky, but well blended).
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and zucchini and cook for 10-12 minutes or until softened. Remove from the heat, add the cream, pesto and pasta and toss to coat. Top with the parmesan and mint to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 693kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 953mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1325IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 131mg | Iron: 2.5mg