Cooking With Maddie Newsletter #39
Summer Squash Aglio e Olio
Hi friends!
Well, it’s official. Summer is finally here. My favorite season of the year. How could it not be? The sun is shining. Patios are open. Grills are going. Everyone is out and about. It’s impossible to be a sour puss when you’re doing cannonballs into a perfectly chilled pool, am I right?!
There’s countless reasons why summer is the superior season (hot take— literally, it’s already hot as hell), but one of the most obvious reasons is all the fresh produce that’s in-season. Corn. Tomatoes. Radishes. Cherries. Stone fruit. Freakin’ watermelons? Need I say more? I find it challenging to not over-buy in the summer just because of how bright and abundant everything is. A summer farmer’s market is my candy shop.
And this week’s recipe highlights one of our household’s favorite summer veggies —summer squash. Think green zucchini and yellow squash, but tbh there’s so many more fun varieties (I mean, the pattypan squash? It doesn’t get much cuter than that).
There’s so many beautiful ways to cook summer squash this time of year. You can pair them with red onions and bell peppers, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and grill with a grill basket (like this one!). We do that at least once a week. Make parmesan zucchini and corn, or a grilled zucchini salad. You could make zoodles, but should you? Eh, I’m not sold on it.
But what you definitely should do is make the Summer Squash Aglio e Olio recipe I have for you all today. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but this may just be one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever made— and I make a LOT of pasta (proof point one, two and three).
This is definitely not a traditional aglio e olio, which usually consists of just garlic and oil (hence the name), but I find the additions of summer squash, a shit ton of parsley, toasted bread crumbs and lemon to be exactly what I’m wanting and needing on a summer evening. And swapping out spaghetti for rigatoni? Well, that’s just personal preference.
Here’s what you’ll need—
Half of a small baguette — you’ll be making breadcrumbs, so preferably day-old bread
10 garlic cloves, smashed
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 zucchinis, cut into rounds or half moons
1 yellow squash, cut into rounds or half moons
10 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup parsley, chopped
¼ cup white wine
1 lb rigatoni
Juice of half a lemon
¼ cup grated parmesan
Crushed red pepper
Let’s start by making the bread crumbs. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Tear half of the baguette into 1-inch pieces, and pulse in a food processor until you have medium crumbs, about the size of a pea. Place crumbs onto a quarter baking sheet (like this one), and toss with a few glugs of olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Be generous with your salt. The experts suggest somewhere around ¼ cup salt per 6 quarts of water.
In a separate large dutch oven, add your 10 smashed garlic pieces and ⅓ cup olive oil. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until garlic becomes golden brown.
Add zucchini, yellow squash, green onions and half your parsley to the dutch oven. Season with salt and pepper. Cook with the lid on, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes, or until everything is soft and starting to brown. Add wine, letting it simmer until it’s reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
While your veggies are cooking, drop your pasta into the big pot of boiling, salted water. Cook for 2-3 minutes less than the time indicated on the box. Before draining, reserve 1 ½ to 2 cups of pasta water, or as BA coined it, “liquid gold.”
When pasta is al dente, transfer to the large dutch oven with your summer squash. Gently toss everything until well combined. Alternate adding pasta water and parmesan until you’ve used all the parmesan, gently stirring so everything is coated. Add remaining parsley and juice of half a lemon.
Serve with crushed red pepper, extra parsley and more parm.
If you’re looking for a more traditional aglio e olio recipe, I love Carla Lalli Music’s from Where Cooking Begins.
For what’s been giving me life this week, it was getting to spend the weekend in St. Louis, helping my family with their yard sale during Kimmswick’s annual Strawberry Festival. I am sore, burnt and tired, but at least I got to spend time with my favorite people. During the sale, we wore my Uncle Jon’s old election tees, which just so happen to “accidentally” end up back with me in Denver. Whoopsie.
Despite spending my entire Saturday and Sunday trying to convince strangers that they couldn’t live without an old tent, meat slicer or fencing swords, I somehow managed to also go to a Cardinal’s game with friends, get sushi with my bro and enjoy this breathtaking sunset.
We’ve also spent the last week eating ALL the cae sals from Molly Baz’s Cook This Book. I had the pleasure of helping my bff Care get her portfolio site off the ground— more to come on that, but here’s a sneak peak at one of her pieces. And lastly, it was starting my mornings off right by adding Fly By Jing’s Zhong Sauce to my avocado toast. This shit is indescribably delicious. It’s sweet and spicy, but not blow your head off spicy. You MUST try it, and while you’re at it — use the code MADDIE10 to get 10% off. Yeah, that’s right — I got codes now. Recipes featuring more of Fly By Jing’s products coming soon!
Wish I was with you,
Maddie