Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad

A couple of weeks ago I made a new promise to myself. I vowed to take the chunk of time during our 2-year old’s nap on Sunday afternoons to plan out our dinners for the week. During the school year I have a solid rhythm of planning, shopping, cooking, and packing up leftovers. But then summer starts and with it comes the late night events, stops for pizza and ice cream, and evening beach hours (who needs dinner when you can eat 4 lbs of watermelon!). Our family dinners at the start of this month were fairly pitiful but I am doing my darnedest to get back on track.

So far, the new plan is working. On Sunday afternoons I pick out three to four dinners I want to make that week and head for the market. The other nights we eat really simple stuff like salad/grilled chicken, eggs/bacon/greens, and rice/beans/avocado. This Pasta & Fried Zucchini Salad from Ottolenghi’s was a huge hit last week. It was delicious for dinner but perhaps even better the next day tossed into a huge bowl of baby lettuce at lunchtime.

Pasta & Fried Zucchini Salad from Plenty

Serves 4

2/3 cup sunflower oil

3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3/4 cup frozen edamame

2 cups basil leaves, shredded coarsely

1/4 cup parsley leaves

1/3 cup olive oi

Salt and black pepper

9 ounces strozzapreti or penne pasta

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 1/2 tablespoons capers

7 ounces buffalo mozzarella, torn by hand into chunks

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry the zucchini slices in a few batches, making sure you don’t crowd them, for 3 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides; turn them over once only. As they are cooked, transfer to a colander to drain. Tip the zucchini slices into a bowl, pour over the vinegar and stir, then set aside.

Blanch the edamame for 3 minutes in boiling water; drain, refresh under running cold water and set aside to dry.

Combine half the basil, all of the parsley and the olive oil in a food processor, adding a bit of salt and pepper. Blitz to a smooth sauce.

Cook the pasta until al dente; drain and rinse under a stream of cold water. Return to the pan in which it was cooked.

Pour the zucchini and their juices over the pasta. Add the edamame, basil sauce, lemon zest, capers and mozzarella. Stir gently together, then taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Before serving, stir in the remaining basil.