The end of summer is the ultimate squash and zucchini season. Every time you visit your parents, grandparents, the market, or even a distant relative, you are given a zucchini. Now it is up to you to cook and prepare that bastard while it is still in season. A whole different delicacy is the squash blossom. So, the zucchini and squash blossom, also called the flower, is the same because these plants come from the same family. Flavor-wise, I believe that there is no distinct difference between the two. I decided to cook up some squash blossom pasta with pesto with these beauties.
It is most popularly served fried and stuffed with cheese, sometimes fried in a beer batter or an egg wash. I decided to go a different way and mix it into some weekday pasta. With some roasted zucchini, summer corn, and pesto, this quickly became a wonderful and flavorful meal.
This squash blossom pasta with pesto is made with orzo and seasonal veggies. Orzo is one of my favorite pasta shapes. It is fun to use in soups, stews, and risottos. Sometimes it is simply fun to variate with different pasta shapes. That is why they are there. To make this dish you will simply need to cook the orzo, then mix with pesto. In the meantime, your veggies will be seared on the skillet and ready for everything to be mixed.
Add some freshly grated or shaven Parmegiano on top and you will have a quick but elegant meal to put on the table. I am a huge sucker for simple meals that come together in 20 minutes. While we still have all this seasonal produce, why not use it and enjoy it. It may not be like that where you all live, but here, once it is out of season, good luck finding it anywhere. From one point of view that is nice, from another, in early spring, I would kill for some fresh veggies. Even if they have been transported from another continent.
I really love late summer and early fall, it has started to rain here. And it is so cold, that I want to get into the hibernating mode, but, unfortunately, this winter won’t be like the last. Last year we had to sit home and be in lockdown, now, there are much more possibilities, but not so much need. I have found my place, which is here cooking and sharing with you guys, but I have to work a day job. So, until I come up with a genius pasta recipe that makes me go viral and puts right on the hotspot, I will not be posting as frequently as I was.
Actually, this squash blossom pasta with pesto could be my comeback to sharing 3 recipes a week. Okay, maybe 3 seems a bit much, but I will try to stick to 2. Since I have been working a lot on both my cooking and photography.
But more on that in the future. Let’s just get cooking!
Squash blossom pasta with pesto
Ingredients
- 250 g orzo
- ½ zucchini
- 2 corn cobs
- 1 sweet onion
- 100 g pesto
- 50 g extra virgin olive oil
- A handful of squash blossoms
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 150 ml pasta water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- Parmegiano for serving
Instructions
- Cook the orzo according to package instructions
- Drain, but save the pasta water, and mix the orzo with the pesto
- Cut the corn off the cob, slice the zucchini and onion
- Add some olive oil to a pan and heat
- Lightly fry the zucchini blossoms from each side, about 30 seconds, remove
- Melt the butter in the same skillet
- Add the onion and cook for 1 minute
- Add in the zucchini and the corn, and cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally
- Add the pasta water and cook for 2 more minutes
- Toss everything together and serve with fresh Parmigiano and basil