While my husband is home this weekend from work, I think I will make this silky easy dish for Sunday dinner with some fresh baked bread. Maybe you can try it too and let me know what you think. It is VERY SIMPLE.
BAKED RIGATONI AND ZUCCHINI
serves: 6-8
Zucchini is best in the summer, which is when this dish -really excels. Today one can get zucchini at a reasonable price -year–round, so it’s easy to make this dish for the family at any time of the year. To balance it further, add some protein, such as swordfish, shrimp, crumbled sausages, or shredded chicken breast. You can add as little or as much of each ingredient to this recipe as you want, to satisfy your nutritional preferences and, of course, your taste.
ingredients
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pot
¼ cup -extra–virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 pound medium zucchini, sliced
One -28–ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 loosely packed cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 pound rigatoni
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 ounces shredded Fontina
1 cup grated Grana Padano or -Parmigiano–Reggiano
directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, and cook until it begins to soften, another 5 minutes. Add the salt then the crushed tomatoes, slosh the tomato can out with 1 cup water, and add it to the skillet as well. Bring the sauce to a boil, and simmer just until it thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes, but don’t let the zucchini begin to fall apart. Then toss in the chopped basil.
Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni until al dente, a few minutes shy of the package directions. Drain the pasta, and toss it in the skillet with the tomato sauce and basil. Butter a -9–by–13–inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, toss together the two cheeses. Spread half the pasta and sauce in the baking dish, and top with half the cheese. Layer the remaining pasta and sauce, then the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, until browned and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
Courtesy of Lidia’s Italy