By the time I’ve finished preparing a meal, my kitchen often looks like a frenzied and ravenous wild animal had been let loose in the house. I use pots. I use skillets. I use at least five different knives, not to mention stirring spoons, spatulas, and those utensils that grab pasta perfectly.
I know my process would horrify many a bystander, but I find joy in it. When else do you get a little bit of license to make a mess as an adult? In the kitchen, you have to make a mess. Some cooks’ messiness is just a little more contained. And some are faster at cleaning it up.
While I find joy creating the messes, cleanup is, of course, exhausting, and I don’t want to take too much advantage of my husband’s generous dishwashing help. So I make recipes that can be contained a little more easily. Here’s one of them.
Roasting the tomatoes and zucchini for this Fusilli Pasta with Summer Squash & Roasted Tomatoes is an easy way to prep the veggies in just one pan. Then it’s simply a matter of cooking the pasta and tipping the veggies into the pasta, stirring in some cheese and herbs, and receiving the hearty thanks of whoever washes the dishes (maybe even your future self).
Fusilli Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Summer Squash
Adapted from Whole Foods
Ingredients
- 4 small tomatoes, quartered
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese, divided
- ¼ cup basil, chopped
- ½ pound fusilli
- 2 zucchini and/or yellow squash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Roast tomatoes and zucchini, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and topped with 2 tablespoons each of cheese and basil, for about 20 minutes. Tomatoes should be bubbling hot. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Add grated summer squash and remaining cheese and basil and toss with pasta to combine.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and then top with roasted tomatoes.
