These days we’re all workin’ hard and getting home tired and hungry. Takeout is always a lifesaver, but after a while, it all tastes the same. For a quick one-dish dinner, all you need is a pound of spaghetti, peppers, onion, and one or two other seasonal veggies. Oh – and don’t forget to pour in some of that white wine you opened last night!
Treat yourself to this gourmet pasta in a quarter hour and … Buon Appetito!
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 yellow summer squash, tips cut and discarded & flesh cut into chunks
1 zucchini, tips cut and discarded & flesh cut into chunks
1 medium yellow or white onion, quartered
1 medium green bell pepper, stem discarded, seeded and flesh cut into chunks
1/2 yellow or orange bell pepper, stem discarded, seeded and flesh cut into chunks
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (good olive oil brands are found at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com)
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup water (to thin out the sauce as it cooks down)
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound spaghetti (you can substitute this with long or short pasta variety)
1. In a food processor, grind (but do not liquify) together the squash, zucchini, onion and bell pepper chunks. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, bring a 4 to 6-quart pot of water to a boil and set aside; keep it at a low boil.
3. In a 12-inch skillet, heat the oil.
4. When oil is hot, stir in the ground vegetables and sauté them, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. After 2 to 3 minutes and when sauce begins to cook down, stir in the wine.
6. Saute the sauce on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes.
7. After 2 minutes, add 1/2 cup of the water and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Stir in the salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. If the sauce looks too dense or dry, stir in a little more water.
9. Turn off the stove burner, but keep the sauce warm.
10. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. When pasta is cooked, drain it.
11. Stir the drained pasta immediately into the sauce in skillet and heat through.
Serve Summer Spaghetti with grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese.
Text and Photograph ©2013 Nancy DeLucia Real
Although red bell peppers are delicious when freh and added raw to salads or other foods, they’re quite succulent when roasted. This is because their naturally sweet flavors are enhanced in the roasting process. Make this traditional “peperoni arrostiti” salad and discover why Italians have such delicate palates. After savoring every ingredient in this delicacy, you’ll never go back to ready made roasted peppers!
Nancy DeLucia Real is an art historian and chef. She has led culinary courses at the Italian Cultural Institute, The Getty Center and The Getty Villa and is a former member of the Culinary Historians of Southern California. Nancy's gastronomy training took place in the heart of Italy under the tutelage of her grandmother. She has taught international cuisine at Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table Stores. Nancy's art history & culinary courses are ongoing at various institutions. She also teaches private cooking classes. 
