Summer Pasta

On a trip to Sonoma and Napa, we ventured to the very small town of Glen Ellen to see what all the fuss was over the  Glen Ellen Star Restaurant.   We finally found the place and the buzz was spot on as it was an excellent casual restaurant with a lot of fresh and homemade pastas, pizzas and much more.  I had their pesto tagliatelle and it was, to say the least, amazing.  Fresh in season vegetables with home made pesto bring this dish together so we brought it to the LPB Test Kitchen and recreated it.

If you want to make this a one dish dinner add Grilled Pesto Shrimp

Ingredients 

• 1 pound of  tagliatelle or any pasta you choose
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 large shallots, finely chopped
• 3 cups freshly cut corn kernals
• 1 red bell pepper, rough chopped
• 2 cups each, yellow and green zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons of butter, divided into 4 pieces
• Freshly made Fresh Pesto
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup creme fraische
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped

Making It

• Make the pesto and set aside in the refrigerator with the plastic wrap directly on the pesto
• Mix the ricotta, creme fraische and chives together, put in refirdgerator
• Boil the water with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, add pasta and cook al dente, try to time it so the pasta finishes at the same time you are done sautéing the veggies
• Put a saute pan over medium head, add the olive oil and cook the shallots, red pepper flakes and bell pepper for 3 minutes, add the corn and zucchini can sauté for an additional 3 minutes then add the butter and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes
• Put in a mixing bowl, add the pesto, veggies and pasta and mix
• Top with cheese mix and serve