This time of year, I only need a few pantry staples and a bit of leftover protein of some sort and my garden and CSA box will fill in the rest. The result is what I call summer easy eating and it's some of my favorite cooking of the year. All of the fuss of other times gives way to the immediacy of freshness and the result is nothing less than blissful.
This time around, a pot of noodles finds butter, vegetables, and leftover chicken and the resulting bowl of dinner is sure to leave you smiling. Garlic cooked in butter until soft seasons and softens zucchini and corn and leaves sungold cherry tomatoes on the edge of bursting so that throughout the meal, pockets of warm sweetness are there to discover.
I just have a bowl like this with a glass of lemonade or iced tea. If there's extra sauce in the bottom of the bowl at the end of the meal, I grab a bit of crusty bread and sop it up. Don't waste that seasonal bliss!
Summer Chicken Noodles
- 1 lb. fettuccine pasta, cooked according to the package instructions
- 6 T. butter
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cob of corn, kernels cut off
- 8 oz. sungold cherry tomatoes
- ¼ c. shelled edamame
- 1-2 c. cooked, coarsely chopped chicken - rotisserie chicken works beautifully
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions and reserve ½ cup of the cooking water when done. Keep the pasta and pasta water warm until needed.
Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the garlic over medium heat until fragrant. Add the zucchini, corn kernels, tomatoes, and edamame and sauté until the zucchini and corn are crisp-tender and the tomatoes are just starting to burst.
Toss the pasta and chicken with the butter and vegetable mixture. Add enough of the reserved pasta water to give the sauce a glossy look. Serve hot.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 20 minutes