A pasta dish for ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday

Ditalini With Zucchini
Favorite Brand Name Pasta 365 Recipes Copyright 1997

8 ounces uncooked ditalini pasta
¼ cup olive oil I only used 2 tablespoons, probably could have used less
1 pound zucchini, trimmed and cut into thin rounds
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente (tender but still firm). Drain. In medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add zucchini and onion; cook and stir 10 minutes or until zucchini is tender crisp. Place tomato in small saucepan of boiling water; boil 1 minute. Place in bowl of ice water for 10 seconds. Remove skin with paring knife; chop tomato. In large bowl, combine zucchini mixture, tomato and parsley. Toss with pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 3 or 4 servings.

Honestly, I chose this recipe because I had zucchini I picked up off the clearance table and this recipe didn't require any other special ingredients (I had ditalini on hand from making Pasta E Fagioli With Sausage). I didn't expect this to be anything special but this was so good, I almost couldn't stop eating it after I made it, and I was making it to take for lunch not to eat right away. Simple flavors but they worked very well together. Before tasting it I thought I might add some Parmesan or Romano cheese, which would have worked, but it wasn't necessary.

I'm going to admit that I used jarred tomato in this. Yes, jarred tomato! This time of year, even premium priced tomatoes aren't all that great and fresh tomatoes only excite me at their very best so I tried the new jarred petite diced tomatoes from Del Monte. They taste like canned tomatoes, just without the juice, but I like canned tomatoes so I was happy.

I was surprised to read that zucchinis are antioxidant rich. Maybe not near the top, but it sounds like they're more nutritious than I assumed they were. They may look a lot like a cucumber but they're way more advanced, nutrition-wise. So this is my contribution to Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday this week.

This is only the second recipe I've tried from this cookbook but I'm sure they'll be many more in my future. Who doesn't love pasta?

Question of the Day: How many different shapes/varieties of pasta are in your pantry right now?