Pasta with Vegetables: Zucchini, Carrot, Tomatoes and Garlic

Name: Pasta with Vegetables: Zucchini, Carrot and Tomato Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Italian cuisine
Ingredients: Pasta (penne) 250 g; Water for boiling the pasta 2.5-3 l; Salt for boiling the pasta 18-21 g; Zucchini 1; Tomato 2; Onion 1; Garlic 1-2 cloves; Carrot 1; Parsley 2-3 sprigs; Olive oil 2 tbsp; Water for simmering 1/2 cup (100 ml); Sugar 1/2 tsp (optional) (2 g); Salt, ground black pepper, dried "Mediterranean" herbs to taste

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45 mins

Pasta with vegetables is a superb and tasty breakfast. It does not take long to make and is very filling.

Everyone knows what pasta is. Only about 30 years ago, everyone knew that a paste was a thick, uniform mass, either tomato or tooth. There is some truth in that. The word “pasta” comes from the Latin pasta, meaning dough or pastry. Or perhaps from the Greek παστη, “floury sauce”. Times change, and so does our idea of things.

Today most people, almost certainly, picture macaroni products when they hear the word “pasta”. But what vegetables are, hardly anyone could say for sure. Vegetables are the edible parts of plants: tubers, stems, fruits, leaves. Surprisingly, a tomato is actually a berry. So are the cucumber, zucchini, eggplant and watermelon, like strawberries and raspberries. Can you picture that?

Everyone waits for the start of the young vegetable season. Young carrots, garlic, greens and zucchini are loved by all, especially if you make a vegetable saladfrom them. Fresh young vegetables braise well and make an excellent sauce for pasta. Pasta with vegetables (zucchini, young carrots, tomatoes and garlic) is an easy and tasty dish for a good breakfast.

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Ingredients

2 servings

Pasta (penne) 250 g
Water for boiling the pasta 2.5-3 l
Salt for boiling the pasta 18-21 g
Zucchini 1
Tomato 2
Onion 1
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Carrot 1
Parsley 2-3 sprigs
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Water for simmering 1/2 cup (100 ml)
Sugar 1/2 tsp (optional) (2 g)
Salt, ground black pepper, dried “Mediterranean” herbs to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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Preparation

Choose the pasta. For pasta with vegetables, as for any other pasta dish, you need good Italian pasta, not a local imitation made from soft flour. It is best to choose a short pasta, penne. The size of this pasta is comparable to the pieces of vegetables.
Pick the vegetables. In spring there are plenty of fresh vegetables, so you can choose them to your taste. Pasta with vegetables turns out great with young carrots, onion and zucchini, young garlic and tomatoes.
Peel the carrot and cut it into thin slices. By the way, it looks very pretty if the carrot is cut into rounds.
Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips.
Peel one or two cloves of garlic and chop finely with a knife.
Peel the young zucchini and cut it into cubes.
Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, peel them and remove the seeds.
Cut one tomato into small cubes, like the sausage for Olivier salad. Puree the second tomato in a blender.

Pasta

Bring 2.5-3 l of water to a boil and salt it at 7 g of salt per liter (18-21 g). You can add 1-2 pinches of dried “Mediterranean” herbs (basil, oregano, mint).
Cook the pasta until done: drop it into the boiling water once the vegetables are simmering under the lid (step 15), so the pasta and the sauce are ready at the same time. Do not overcook it; the cooking time on the package guarantees an “al dente” result.

Vegetable sauce

While the water comes to a boil, fry the young carrot and sliced onion in olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
When the onion starts to brown, add the zucchini. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, both cubes and puree, to the vegetables in the pan.
Add a little salt and pepper. If you like, add 1/2 tsp sugar (2 g). Add the garlic.
Pour in 1/2 cup of water (100 ml), cover and simmer the vegetables over low heat for 10 minutes.
Then remove the lid and let the excess moisture evaporate until the sauce thickens.

Serving

Finely chop the parsley with a knife, leaving one sprig for garnish.
Drain the pasta in a colander and let the water run off.
Combine the pasta with the stewed vegetables and mix.
Serve the pasta while it is hot: sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and garnish with a whole sprig.
Pasta with vegetables is a tasty seasonal dish made from young vegetables. If you like, you can vary the vegetables in the sauce to your taste.