A couple of weeks ago, we made grilled zucchini ribbons with pesto and white beans. It was extremely good, but I kept thinking to myself that I wished the zucchini had been thinner, and then I thought to myself that, although this was Deb giving the pasta treatment to something decidedly not pasta, what if pasta was also involved? And in my head one evening trying to figure out what to make for dinner, this ribbon of thought tied itself around paper-thin slices of zucchini and smashed garlic cloves sautéed in olive oil, cooked way way down, crushed together and tossed with pasta. I took one bite: smitten. I let my girlfriend, who was eating a tomato and mozzarella situation she was very excited about, try it: she was jealous that it was my dinner and not hers.
The next day, I tried it again, but since I was out of zucchini I used a cucumber. It still worked, though this time I let it sit in soy sauce for a bit first. Inspired by a pasta from Half Baked Harvest, I had used my spoon the first time to crush the squash slices; this time I used the potato masher she recommends. It works wonderfully.
Despite the inspirations that have refined my technique, this still feels like a recipe that’s all my own, and like the kind of thing they tell you about trusting your instincts when you cook. I trusted my instincts and I got a really good, easy pasta out of it, one that’s simple to throw together for lunch or for dinner. I hope you trust me, and I hope you like it too.
As a note: pictured is zucchini and pattypan with orechiette, but you can use any pasta and any summer squash you want. I’ve made cucumbers with soba and zucchini with whole wheat linguine before — this recipe is flexible!
Smashed summer squash pasta
Serves 2
The basket
8 oz. pasta
2 small-to-medium summer squash, including but not limited to cucumbers, pattypan, and zucchini, ends trimmed
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Light olive oil (the type that advertises itself as good for sautéing) or neutral oil
3-5 cloves of garlic (optional, and number is to your preference)
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
The path
Boil well-salted water; at a rolling boil, cook pasta. Drain and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil if desired.
While the pasta cooks, peel and smash garlic (or smash and then peel; I find that it’s easiest to peel the skin off after you’ve smashed it), and cut the squash as thin as you can. I used a mandoline for wispy 1/16-inch slices, but the thinnest you can get will be fine given that they’ll get crushed soon enough. Combine with a tablespoon of light olive/neutral oil in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Let sit while you heat an oiled (thin layer) cast iron skillet over high heat. When ready, drop the garlic cloves in and sauté for a couple of minutes, until brown. Flip the garlic and add the squash slices. Try to spread these out evenly over the pan, but it’s fine if you don’t manage it.
Be careful at this point: summer squash is mostly water, and it will spatter. Turn the heat down a smidge (to medium-high or even just medium) and let things go for a few minutes. When the spattering has died down, start stirring the squash around, and grind or sprinkle some black pepper over top. You’re not going to get everything perfectly even, but you want to separate the slices from each other as much as you can so that everything gets softened.
The squash slices will get smaller and smaller as you cook. At some point (perhaps about 10 minutes in), turn the heat back up and start stirring more frequently. Crush the squash with your wooden spoon as you do so. After a couple minutes of that, grab your potato masher (if you have one; if you don’t, the spoon is still fine) and vigorously smash some squash. Do this every couple of minutes.
The squash will be ready when it’s tender, almost creamy, and reduced by a lot. Remove from pan (I use a slotted spoon so as not to get excess oil on my pasta) and add to the bowl your pasta is in. Toss and serve.