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Saturday, July 17, 2010

Rigatoni with Roasted Zucchini and Crispy Prosciutto


Pardon me if this gets boring, but I'm madly in love with my vegetable garden. I stroll by it several times a day, shaking my tomatoes in hopes of getting them to set, noting the progress of the mess of Delicata Squash vines taking over the path, pinching off the bolted stems of the arugula so I can get one more spicy pizza out of it, standing at the potato barrel resisting the urge to dig down and see what's happening. It's about as organic as a city garden can be. We even splurged and put in a drip irrigation system so we haven't been wasting water. Here's the problem: I'm not much of a vegetable eater, but I planted all this to to challenge myself to figure out how to add more veggies to my diet. And it's working because I would make this again even if I didn't have a plant shooting out a zucchini a day.


Rigatoni with Roasted Zucchini and Crispy Prosciutto
serves 4

1 onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8 slices of Prosciutto, cut into thin strips (sub thinly sliced ham, if needed)
olive oil
4 smallish Zucchinis, or enough to really cover a cookie sheet, cut into coins
lots of grated Parmesan cheese
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1 pound Rigatoni
  • Start by crisping the Prosciutto in a pan that has been heated to medium-high and drizzled with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Drop the strips into the oil and give them a stir so they don't stick. Cook until they're crisp - about 10 minutes - then remove to a plate.
  • Toss the zucchini coins in olive oil, salt, and pepper and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven at 450 for about 15 minutes or until they are nice and browned. If it's too hot outside to turn on your oven, just do them on the grill.
  • Cook the onion and garlic in the same pan as the Prosciuitto (adding more oil if needed). If you have a little extra time, it's nice to cook the garlic first separately, letting it get perfectly brown, and then set it aside with the Prosciutto. Then do the onion until nicely browned. If you're a little more rushed, cook the onion until it starts to brown on the edges, then add the garlic and do the same.
  • When the pasta is done, toss it with the onion, garlic, Prosciutto, oil from the pan, oregano, and a generous amount of grated Parmesan. Top with the zucchini coins. It's great warm or cold.

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