Reheating time: 10-15 minutes- boil water!

Guys, there’s absolutely no denying it. We are up to our ears in zucchini. It’s truly a wonderful time of the year. When a friend asks for help, you help them. Ray definitely needed to move a lot of this sweet summer squash, and what better way to do that than with a fresh, summery pasta dish? There is no better way. It’s even better if you start with good pasta. We get all our fresh pasta and ravioli from Deano’s in Somerville- they’ve been making pasta for three generations, and it definitely shows. This one is probably my favorite style they do, with smoked, whipped mozzarella cheese, and loads of fresh basil. It’s perfection. We’ve smothered it in a smooth, fresh zucchini + basil fondue, made with caramelized onions, and fava beans. Delicious. Add some fluffy tomato + basil focaccia, some of Ray’s famous salad mix, and a simple dressing, and you’re in summer heaven. Now, if we can just keep cool today, we’ve got something exciting to look forward to for dinner. Don’t forget to drink water! Get in there. 

For the ravioli:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, drop your ravis in, and give them a stir. Let them boil for 2ish minutes, till they swell up and they are all floating happily at the surface. 

While they cook, warm the zucchini + basil fondue in a large saucepan (or, you can just warm it in the pasta water pot once you drain the raviolis if you don’t want to dirty another dish). Strain the ravis, reserving a splash or two of the pasta water (to add back into the sauce, helps the sauce cling to the pasta). Add the ravis to the zucchini fondue, stir well to coat, and thin the sauce out as necessary with the reserved pasta water. If the sauce is too thin, cook it down for a minute or two over medium heat. If it’s too thick, add a bit more pasta water! 

Once you’re happy with your sauce, kill the heat, and keep stirring every now and then until you’re ready with everything else. The sauce will thicken up as it cools and the pasta absorbs all the moisture, so keep that in mind when you’re deciding on your final consistency. I like a bit thinner for my sauces, because in my opinion, they can get gluey- which I don’t like! A scoche of olive oil or a small whack of butter right before you plate will help prevent the glue factor from becoming an issue halfway through your dinner.

Plate it up, sprinkle some of the pistachio gremolata on top, and dig right in. Don’t even wait for the salad or the focaccia. This is all you need!

For the salad:

You know the drill. Toss the salad into a mixing bowl with the vinaigrette, give a season with s+p, and mix mix mix! 

For the focaccia:

Just give this fluffy goodness a toast in the toaster or oven, and plate it up in your pasta bowl to catch any residual sauce that may be left behind 🙂

That’s it! 

Dinner is served, and solved.

#weareweco