Welcome to summer at its best – Fresh Garden to Table Eating that celebrates so many of our favorite flavors of the season!

This is a great flexible recipe that can be changed to what you have on hand.

We eat this is as a chilled meal during high summer. While some might call it a salad, I see it as more of a base to add other things to; from leftover grilled chicken, some sourdough slathered with pesto… We’ve also added cooked and cooled cannellini beans to this for a protein boost. If you add beans, plan to add more dressing to keep the flavors balanced.

We’ve garnished with balsamic vinegar, pesto, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, olives, or whatever Italian flavors feel right that night. The main idea with this meal is to let the flavors from the garden shine. All the herbs in this recipe are easy to grow.

You can make this with regular pasta or use zucchini noodles (zoodles) or both if you have split family preferences like we do.

Summer Spaghetti Recipe

Ingredients

  • Pasta- 1 lb of your favorite pasta
    -or-
    1-2 large summer squash or zucchini worth of ‘zoodles’ veggie noodles
  • 1 chopped zucchini (If not using zucchini as noodle)
  • 1-2 diced cucumbers
  • 2 c chopped tomatoes (can half cherry tomatoes too)
  • 2 diced peppers (red, green, banana, just nothing too hot)
  • 1-2 c chopped snap beans raw or cooked
    (the smaller and more tender the better)
  • ¼ -½ c finely diced red onion
  • ½ c shredded mozzarella

Dressing

(All herbs measured in fresh quantities use less if using dried herbs)

  • 1 minced garlic clove (1 tbsp garlic powder)
  • ¼ c+ chopped basil (1 large bunch) (3 tbsp dry)
  • 2-3 sprigs oregano (1 tsp dry)
  • ¼ c chopped parsley (3 tbsp dry)
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • ½ c olive oil
  • ¼ c white wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Make dressing. Especially if using dried herbs, let the dressing sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to meld the herb flavors. We like the dressing with the bits of herbs visible, but if you prefer give the dressing a quick blitz in the ninja or blender to create a finer consistency- and really bring out the flavors fast!

Cook, strain and cool pasta if using, or use a zoodle maker or a mandolin to make zucchini noodles.

*I have sautéed the zucchini noodles in Olive oil, garlic powder and Salt + Pepper before and while I liked it, it lost some of the fresh summer feel.

Chop and mix all the vegetables in a large bowl.

Add pasta or zoodles and dressing only to the amount you’ll use that night- saving the vegetable mix separately for later use. You can add more whole leaves of herbs like basil and oregano just before serving too.

Best eaten within 2-3 days- maybe with a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc, absolutely tastes best while eaten outdoors with friends!

Dig In,
Michelle