After my two week trip home of complete over indulgence, this past week has been one of diets, both food and money, and work and lots and lots and lots of sleep… I just could not get enough sleep. Jetlag treats me very differently than in it did when I was in my 20s! It takes me about a week to get over it these days.
Last night I was finally starting to feel a little like me again. I actually went for a run around Castle Island; my first run in oh, wait, let’s see… a really long time, and then I got home and felt full of life and needing to cook! I was also thinking about wine and my ever decreasing little wine stock. I have been saving one of my favorite wines, which I decided to open and was incredibly excited to do so I might add. I opened the 2008 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay.
So, for dinner… I wanted to make something somewhat healthy and of course I didn’t want to go grocery shopping at 7.30pm so needed to use contents of my fridge and cupboard… zucchini, yes, pasta – change it from white to wheat! A dish was forming in my mind.
Roasted Zucchini with Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta
Ingredients
2 Zucchini’s, sliced into ¼ inches
¼ cup of red onion, finely chopped
½ tsp of truffle salt
1 tsp crushed garlic
Zest of half lemon
Sea Salt & Ground Pepper
Cherry tomatoes, half – as many as you want – I used about 12
Mushrooms, sliced – again as many as you want – I used about 15
6oz Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta
Parmesan Cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place zucchini on a baking sheet and drizzle with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 10 minutes.
Cook pasta in boiling water and salt for about 9 minutes.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Add truffle salt and lemon zest.
Add roasted zucchini and lightly toss into the onion mixture. Strain pasta and save about ¼ cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the skillet and mix through for a minute. Add the pasta water and leave on low heat and covered for 5 minutes. Add extra salt and pepper if needed.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese and with a nice glass of Chardonnay.
The pasta was delicious. The lemon rind gives the dish a lovely tang and the truffle salt is so heavenly and light, it adds a wonderful subtle flavor. I nearly had two bowls but refrained… it was very hard. Plenty of leftovers to enjoy this weekend.
My review of the 2008 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay to follow.
