What a wonderful vegetarian pasta dish to help use up that stock pile of summer squash!  Simple a combination of thinly sliced zucchini sauteed in olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes and a touch of black pepper, tossed together with cooked penne pasta, a touch of pasta water and some grated Parmesan cheese.  The pasta water adds starch to the dish which in turn, creates a sauce when combined with the pasta and the grated cheese.  And the tastiness doesn’t end here: you then top the servings of pasta with an herbed ricotta cheese mixture that is studded with lemon zest, juice, fresh parsley and fresh tarragon.  To add even more fresh flavor and color, you finish the entire dish off with some fresh basil from the garden.  This lovely dish is light by nature and is wonderful served with a chilled bottle of light Beaujolais Nouveau.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/zucchini-penne-ricotta)

Tagged: basil, Fine Cooking, Fine Cooking magazine, fresh basil, fresh herbs, fresh parsley, fresh tarragon, herbed ricotta, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pasta, pasta water, penne pasta, ricotta, ricotta cheese, short pasta, summer squash, tarragon, vegetarian, vegetarian pasta, zucchini, zucchini penne, zucchini penne with ricotta