Summer Zucchini Pasta w/ squash blossoms

Summer squashes are so abundant at the farm. We have them in at least 6 varieties, differing from color to shape. They are smaller than the zucchini you find in Europe, which I think makes them more flavorful and tender. We also have many squash blossoms. I found out this year that squash blossoms can be female or male; females have the fruit (the baby squash) that will mature into squash if not picked, while male only have the stem. When the male squash blossoms opens, bees will start pollinating from them to the female squash blossoms, fertilizing them, so that a squash fruit will start growing. Mother nature thought about it all!

This is a great summer dish, very easy to make, good for leftovers, easily pleases a crowd.
Give it a try!

•INGREDIENTS•(for 4/5 servings)
→ 10 small summer squash (zucchini)
→ 400 gr pasta, short is better like penne or fusilli
→ 4 garlic cloves
→ 5 squash blossoms
→ 1 bunch of basil (about 30 leaves)
→ 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
→ extra virgin olive oil
→ 1 organic lemon
→ salt & pepper
→ parmesan (optional)

Start by soaking the sun-dried tomatoes for a couple of hours, or to make it faster soak in boiling water when you start cooking the dish.
Put a big pot of water to boil, once it starts boiling add some coarse salt and cook the pasta.
Wash and slice the zucchini. Peel the garlic and cut the cloves in half. In a big pan, heat 1-2 tbls of olive oil and add the garlic. After 5 minutes, when the garlic is golden, add the zucchini slices, some coarse salt and cover slightly. Let cook for 15-20 minutes until the zucchini are translucent. In the meantime prepare the squash blossoms by washing inside and make sure no insects are still there (I always find a bee or ant!), and chop them in stripes (no pistil). Also wash the basil and chop in stripes too. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, rinse and pat dry, chop finely, set aside.
Drain the pasta al dente, add it to the zucchini, add the basil, squash blossoms, fresh ground pepper, grated lemon peel and a good amount of olive oil. stir to combine and serve!
Garnish with the sun-dried tomatoes and some grated parmesan if wanted.

Here are some pics from last couple of weeks at the farm…we are getting so many beautiful things…french beans (haricoverts), lima beans (for which we spend a lot of time shucking), carrots, eggplants (Japanese, Italian, Chinese), tiger figs (or Panache), concord grapes and so much more.