Eating Local: Zucchini and Basil Pasta

Living in a colder climate with a few extra months of winter than the southern parts of the nation, there isn't a big window for a wide range of fresh, locally grown produce in Montana, so you've got to strike the farmer's market while it's available in just a few short months.

From now through the end of the summer, we'll be planning a Saturday meal around whatever interesting local vegetables and meat we can find while walking down to the farmer's market.

This last weekend we came away with the beautiful basil and zucchini pictured below. Not only are they leagues ahead of their store counterparts in terms of flavor, color, and aroma - they are also a better deal. Those zucchini were 4 for $1, and the bunch of basil - about 3 times the amount you'd get in a package at Walmart or Albertsons - was $2.

For our first local-based meal, we're going with a simple one-pan pasta (although because we're silly, we're going to use two pots instead). If you want to give it a shot, you'll need:

• Two small zucchinis
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 1 handful cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 handful button mushrooms + butter for sauteing
• 4 – 5 cloves garlic
• 1 white onion
• 1 box fettuccine or linguine (long noodles work great, but if you prefer shaped pasta, go for it!)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Parmesan (preferably block-style for shaving, but pre-grated will do in a pinch)
• Salt and pepper to taste

We already had onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes on hand, or we would have bought some of those at the market as well!

Nearly everything (except the mushrooms) are all going into one single pot, so to get started we slice and dice all the vegetables.

First we're going to be sauteing the mushrooms separately so they can have a buttery flavor rather than getting mushy boiling in water with all the other ingredients.

Now everything else - the pasta, the oil, the vegetables and about 4 to 4/12 cups water - all go into the pot together at once to cook at the same time. This cuts down on the number of dishes you use and makes pasta meals much simpler, without having to blend and heat a sauce separately.

Everything in one pan gives a great fresh flavor as all the ingredients mingle together.Because of the difference in cooking times and methods, we won't be using our normal homemade pasta, but rather going with standard store bought dried pasta.

This should cook over a high heat so it boils during cooking, allowing the pasta to get al dente and the vegetables to properly heat through.

Be sure to stir with tongs frequently as the water reduces down so everything cooks evenly - you don't want to end up with a few crunchy strands of pasta and some undercooked zucchini. Give it a taste at this point, and you'll probably want to add in some salt. If the flavor isn't quite where you want it, you can also add in some chicken or vegetable stock and let it further reduce.

Once the water has reduced down, just set it aside for about two to three minutes for the remaining liquid to thicken up.

To assemble, spoon over some of the sauteed mushrooms and then add some more diced fresh basil on top as garnish, along with some shaved slices of parmesan and cracked black pepper.

Thanks for checking in on our first look at local-based meals, and be sure to check back in as next week we'll be trying out something very different: kohlrabi!