(Recipe can be found on the Ezra Pound Cake site here.)
Step by Step Instructions:
With a few simple ingredients, this delicious pasta dish comes together and here’s what you need: About 1/2 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes sliced length-wise, one Lemon (for zesting), 2 garlic cloves, Parmesan Cheese, Linguini pasta (or your favorite kind), Salt & Pepper, Olive Oil, Fat-free Yogurt, and 3 medium Zucchini (I could only find smaller zucchini so I used 4 instead).
I began by boiling a pot of water and then cooking the pasta with the package directions. Then I moved onto my prep work. Using a knife or mandolin, cut the zucchini into thin, equally-sized slices. WARNING: If you use a mandolin, use the guard so you don’t slice off part of your thumb like I did. 🙂
Then I grated 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and I zested one lemon with my handy microplane grater.
In a large bowl, I added 1/2 cup of non-fat, plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and ground pepper.
The sauce ingredients get whisked together and look like the above picture. It smelled SO GOOD!
In a large pan, I heated 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the zucchini and flip it with a spatula occasionally…
…until the zucchini is softened and slightly transparent. Wow, I love zucchini.
When the pasta is done cooking, reserve some of the pasta water before you drain the pasta. Then go ahead and drain it and set it aside.
The recipe calls for slices of garlic, but after examining the garlic cloves I had, I deciced to use minced garlic instead. I’d rather not use bad garlic. 😉 Just add the garlic to a side of the pan and saute it for 30-60 seconds and then combine it with the zucchini.
Then add the tomatoes to the zucchini and stir them for a couple of minutes in the pan until the tomatoes are softened.
The vegetable mixture will look like this when it’s done. Yum!
The veggies are then transferred to the sauce bowl and are stirred together so they are coated in the sauce.
Then I poured the veggie and sauce mixture over the drained pasta…
…and mixed until it’s well combined. Then it’s time to serve up the pasta and enjoy! I topped the dish with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and this was such a seriously good pasta dish. Plus you know it’s good for you so enjoy!
Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce
Adapted from Jillian Michaels’ “The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook”
Ingredients:
8 ounces whole wheat linguine (or your pasta of choice)
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium (8-ounce) zucchini, cut into thin strips (3 inches long and 3/4 inch wide, like a big stick of gum)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Preparation Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook about 9 minutes, or according to the package directions. Remove 1/4 cup of the cooking water, and set it aside. Drain the pasta. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, Parmesan, lemon zest, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, and cook just until wilted, flipping them over occasionally with a spatula. (The zucchini will be soft and somewhat see-through.)
4. Use a spoon or spatula to push the zucchini aside so a space on the bottom of the pan is clear. Add the garlic, and cook for 15 to 30 seconds, until golden but not really brown.
5. Mix the garlic into the zucchini.
6. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
7. Transfer the zucchini mixture to the yogurt mixture, and stir to combine. Add the drained linguine, and toss gently to combine. Add the reserved pasta cooking water a tablespoon at a time, if necessary, to thin it. Divide among four bowls and serve.
Nutritional Info (per serving):
Makes 4 servings
303 calories
7g fat
14g protein
49g carbs
255g sodium.
Leave a Reply