Fried Zucchini Spaghetti

My kids have this little ditty they sing. It goes something like this

"Oh my gosh, It's a double rainbow, what-does-it-mean?"

See?

They sing it when we see double rainbows, which during Steamboat summertime, happens more than you'd think.

Rainbow in our backyard a few weeks ago

Tonight, we saw the most ginorous, complete rainbow ever. This comes right after a particularly difficult evening of worry, and just seconds after I called God a show-off because our view of a storm in the distance while sunlight filtered in on our part of the valley was spectacular. Did you see how big that rainbow was above? Yeah, this one was soooo big that I couldn't fit it in the frame. This shot below was all I could get.





God was like, Boom! Take that, and shove your worry up the tailpipe, little lassi! I got this.

So, we've learned two things so far.

1) My kids are as strange as both my dad and I am

2) I come across as blasphemous online

I am not trying to be blasphemous. I promise I give God all the reverence and respect He deserves. But my God? He has a sense of humor about Him and sometimes gives it to me straight with a Scottish accent.

I so hate to go here, but summer is slowely weaning itself out of the picture, leaving rainbows and storms behind and making way for fall, back to school, crispy apples, pie, and chilly mornings. All this to say, you better believe I'm going to suck out all the summer I can before then. This means eating more fried green tomatoes, hiking, grilling, roasting perfectly ripe summer tomatoes and freezing them for winter time tomato soup, and using up all of that goregeous, plump zucchini I see everywhere.

Mom, if you want to bring me any from your garden, feel free. Anytimenow. 



If you can get zucchini fresh from the garden, slightly warmed from the sun, there is perhaps nothing better. Summer zucchini is sweet, mellow and plentiful. Kind of like this Fried Zucchini Spaghetti.  This isn't the most figure friendly dish (read: fried zucchini) but it's not the worst either. I was surprised at how mild this is. I mean, it's only some whole wheat spaghetti, thin, crunchy and sweet zucchini disks, salty parmesan, fresh basil and olive oil, so I'm not sure what I was expecting because all those  things are really good, really mellow ingredients.

Fried Zucchini Spaghetti
adapted from My fathers Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow
serves 4

3/4 pound (3/4 box) spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
3 zucchini, very thinly sliced (but thicker than paper thin or they will just burn)
2 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
Coarse salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
1/4 cup pasta water, to thin
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful fresh basil leaves (about 12 large), roughly torn

Boil the spaghetti in salted water until just al dente. Meanwhile, toss the zucchini with the flour. Heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over high heat and add as much zucchini as will fit in a single layer. Cook, stirring and flipping occasionally, until well browned and a little crispy, about 4 minutes. Remove the zucchini to a plate and sprinkle with coarse salt. Repeat until you've cooked all the zucchini.

Meanwhile, whisk the cheese together with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the pasta water, adding a bit more if necessary. You want the consistency to be creamy. Drain the spaghetti and add to the bowl with the parmesan mixture. Toss together, season with the coarse salt and pepper, and fold in two-thirds of the fried zucchini and all the basil. 

To serve, portion the pasta into four shallow bowls and evenly distribute the rest of the zucchini on top of each, along with a couple gratings of parmesan, and another sprinkling of coarse salt. 

I love this idea. It's summer comfort food. Next time I might add some crushed red pepper and garlic to the mix and try cutting the zucchini a touch thicker and breading it with Italian bread crumbs for a different flavor. All good things.