Pasta with Goat Cheese, Zucchini and Summer Squash
Inspired by Bon Appetit, June 2009

Ingredients:
A few glugs of olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic cloves chopped in a few thick pieces
1 zucchini sliced in 1/8 inch thick circles
1 summer squash sliced in 1/8 inch thick circles
1 round goat cheese – ok, I failed to measure mine, but the amount would have filled 1 cup measure
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp (or more if you want more flavor) herbes de Provence
1 lb fresh pasta
Juice from the zested lemon
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:

In a sauté pan, on medium heat, cook the shallot and garlic, until the shallot is softer and translucent about 5 minutes. Add the squash and zucchini and maybe add a bit more olive oil, if the mixture looks a bit dry.

While the vegetables were sautéing, make a paste with goat cheese, lemon zest, olive oil and herbes de Provence, while also waiting for the water for pasta to heat. Once the vegetables are ready and removed from heat, and the cheese paste is made, cook the pasta. While you don’t have to use fresh pasta (boxed will do in a pinch!) I recommend fresh pasta if you can get your hands on it. It’s a truly sublime thing. I’m lucky to live in close proximity to lots of Italian stores and so fresh pasta is quite plentiful. Just keep in mind that dry pasta tends to cook longer (check the instructions on the box) whereas fresh pasta tends to cook faster.

When the pasta is done, drain it and dump it back in the pot. Add the cooked vegetables and the goat cheese paste and mix quickly. Taste and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

This should serve roughly 4 people.