I have said a lot of times before how my love for cooking was nurtured at a very young age, while I watched and helped with chopping vegetables and slicing onions (Spanish red onions so imagine the tears I have cried). Cooking and food spotting are two culinary adventures I truly enjoy. When I started a food blog three years ago, I was surprised by the fact that there were still so many ingredients I have not tried cooking with. I was delighted at the same time because when you are blogging, you get more inspired to try out new produce and challenge yourself to create something that excites the taste buds.. That is how it is for me anyway.
Kale and fennel were added to my list of favourite ingredients. Last summer season, another addition to the list … yellow squash! I don’t know why I ignored them every time they were in season. I got curious so I Google-d for ways to prepare them and found out that these yellow squashes can be cooked whole (because of their small size) or sliced, then simply sauteed or stir-fried. Thought I would go for the sliced-and-sauteed option. Add some mushrooms, garlic and chilli and toss them with pasta linguine.
I got this pasta dish inspiration from a local supermarket food magazine, lemon spaghetti with shaved yellow squash. Thought I’d make it more interesting and appealing so I changed some of the ingredients and added mushrooms. Chicken goes well with yellow squash so I served this as side to grilled chicken. As a main, this is delicious on its own. And for those vegetarian nights, adding some sliced zucchinis and capsicums will turn this into a vegetarian dish. Versatile, simple and tasty, these yellow squashes are sure summer delight.
Ingredients:
- 300 g linguine pasta, cooked as per packet directions
- 4 pieces yellow squash, thinly slice
- 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
- 1 long red chilli, seeded and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- cracked black pepper, to serve
Method:
- Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add garlic, chilli, mushrooms and sliced squash. Stir-fry over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Add cooked linguine to pan and toss well to combine.
- To serve, arrange pasta on plate, top with basil leaves and freshly ground black pepper.