Weeknight fancy: Herbed zucchini and blossom pasta

Beautiful flowers from my beautiful bestie, Awesome A :-D!

Wow. I am going to jump right into it with this post: this dish is one of my favorite things I have made/eaten in a while. Sure, some of my pleasure from this dish is derived from the fact that many of the ingredients came straight from my garden (my first harvest!), but it was also straight up delicious. Delicious to the point where even Reasonable R kept talking about it... almost as much as he talked about the jalapeño beer cornbread.

Now, what is this magical dish I speak of? Let me break it down. First, I harvested a few baby zucchini... nay, adolescent zucchini and their attached blossoms this week (in addition to a few childless male blossoms). They were delicate and beautiful and perfect and I loved them. Next, I took a few steps over to my herb garden and snipped off some of each... parsley, pineapple sage, mint, basil, and lemon thyme. Finally, I strolled on to my CSA box to complete the dish with a large juicy tomato (since I probably still have a few weeks before my dozens of tomatoes turn red). The only pantry items that supported this dish were some quinoa pasta and some tofu. Wait, did I say tofu? I meant homemade tofu ricotta that fooled Realistic R. SO. DELICIOUS. I am definitely making that more often.

The zucchini blossoms add such an awesome floral note to it, the tofu gives the dish a nice silkiness, and the herbs just give it so much flavor. The star of the dish though? The zucchini. They were so tender and were an absolute pleasure to have in my mouth. My zucchini plant is going to be producing prolifically this summer, and I couldn't be more excited.

I steamed up a side of broccoli and sat down with my gorgeous meal to catch up on the last couple episodes of the Bachelorette. Don't judge, please... especially when I am here to share with you such a delicious, nutritious, and easy weekday meal! Oh, and did I mention the whole thing took maybe 20 minutes to prepare?

Herbed Zucchini and Blossom Pasta with Tofu Ricotta 

Materials:

Tofu Ricotta

• 8 oz extra firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

Remaining Ingredients

• 1 lb your favorite pasta
• olive oil
• 3 small zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup assorted fresh herbs, minced
• 3 or 4 zucchini blossoms (or a few more if you have them), chiffonaded 
• salt 
• pepper

Methods:
For the Tofu Ricotta

1. Mash the block of tofu with your hands in a mixing bowl until is has sufficiently crumbled.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to mash with your hands until is resembles ricotta cheese.
3. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the dish. 

For the Pasta

1. Cook pasta accordingly.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and zucchini and sauté for about 2 minutes, just until the zucchini is barely softened.
4. Gently toss together the cooked pasta, lightly sautéed zucchini, tomato, herbs, zucchini blossoms, and tofu ricotta with a light drizzle of olive oil and a shake of salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Enjoy immensely!