Baked Pasta with Corn, Zucchini and Basil‏

I know what you're thinking. Oh, please, not another zucchini pasta dish. I know, I know. But I have to. It's for my mom. She can't stop talking about this stuff and makes it constantly. CONSTANTLY. And that means that we're constantly sent home with leftovers. Precious, wonderful leftovers.

It's quite apparent now that my mom thinks we're starving. Don't all moms think their kids need to eat more? Step into her kitchen, and she'll proceed to list of the contents of her kitchen, hoping something will strike your tastebuds. "Well, we have popcorn and brownies, there are apples in the fridge, or I could make you a ham sandwich..." When I call her to see if she can watch baby Ben for a few hours, she interprets that to mean "Can you watch Ben and also clean out your kitchen to give us more food than we could ever eat since we can't locate a grocery store?"

I secretly love it, though. And we always eat it up.

Exhibit A: Our fridge before visit to mom's house.

Exhibit B: Our fridge after visit to mom's house.

Yes, that's Julia Child's chocolate spongecake with BUTTERcream frosting. Baking inspiration from the movie and a BIG step for my cake-from-the-box mother. Bonus points to her for that little number.

Thanks mom.

Baked Pasta with Corn, Zucchini, and Basil

Adapted from a Williams-Sonoma recipe. I would describe this dish as baked summer on a fork. And it uses up a ton of zucchini. Practical and delicious, just like we like it.

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb. penne or rotini
6 Tbs. olive oil, plus more as needed
Kernels cut from 2 ears of corn
6 zucchini, about 2 lb. total, cut into half-moons
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 Tbs. sliced garlic
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
6 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Preheat an oven to 400ºF. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt the water, add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

In a 12-inch nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the corn, season with salt and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Set aside.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and warm the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil. Working in batches, add the zucchini, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add to the bowl with the corn. Repeat with the remaining zucchini, adding more oil to the pan as needed.

Set the pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, 1 tsp. salt and black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften and begin to form a sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until the wine has reduced and the sauce is fairly thick, about 3 minutes more.

Add the pasta, tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella and half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano to the bowl with the vegetables and stir to combine. Transfer to the fry pan and sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.