Dinner tonight.

This evening we had a pasta dish for dinner. I am not crazy about pasta for dinner – it just doesn’t do it for me. But tonight my daughter had gymnastics so I knew I had to make something she would eat – even though she had a thermos full of pasta for lunch. Luckily for me, pasta is her favorite and she still ate it enthusiastically for dinner.

We live in a city that is full of Italians and if there is one things Italians do well, it is make pasta. Local friends of ours told me about a pasta dish they make when they want something delicious, but quick, for dinner. So, without further ado…

Pasta with Zucchini and Breadcrumbs

Start by taking some olive oil and heating it up in a skillet. Then you add some finely sliced garlic and fry that up until it is golden. Meanwhile, bring a large pot full of water to a boil for your pasta. Start to cook it, unless you chose an angel hair pasta which is done in three minutes. Back to your skillet, take a zucchini (I peeled mine in an attempt to hide it from the kids) and chop it into your hot garlic oil. Fry this until it is softened and starting to get golden. Then, take bread crumbs and sprinkle them over your zucchini. Fry the breadcrumbs until they start to get toasted and fragrant. Once your pasta is done, add it to the skillet and toss it to coat all the pasta with the breadcrumbs and zucchini. You can add fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan at this time and even some oven roasted or sun dried tomatoes, if you wish. Before serving, drizzle the pasta with more olive oil (only a little) and dig in!

This pasta dish was a nice change from the regular marinara sauce and was flavourful and different. Pasta for dinner is starting to look a little better!