Summer Veggie Spaghetti

In my experience, the water comes to a boil in about 20 minutes. By that time the sauce for your summer veggie spaghetti will be nearly finished. It's fast!

 6 qts water(see Ann's Tips)
 8 oz whole wheat or farro spaghetti
 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
 2 cloves garlic sliced
 1 small dried red chili pepper. Optional Keep whole - do not crumble or it will add too much heat!
 4 small zucchini, deseeded, cut in a small dice
 2 ripe, medium beefsteak tomatoes
 1 cup frozen peas
 1 cup loosely packed torn fresh basil leaves
 grated pecorino cheese to sprinkle over the pastaOptional (see Ann's Tips)
 1 tbsp salt, divided or to taste

1

In a large pot set the water on to boil with all but 1 teaspoon of the salt. Measure the pasta - 2 ounces per person. When the water comes to a rolling boil (about 20 minutes), add the pasta and cook 1 minute less than the packet instructions. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water. Drain. (See Ann's Tips)

2

Meanwhile, start the sauce: heat the oil in a heavy saute pan over a medium-high flame. When it starts to ripple add the sliced garlic and the hot pepper if using. As soon as the garlic starts to color, about 1-2 minutes, add the diced zucchini to the pan. Sprinkle with salt. Stir to mix. Saute the diced zucchini until they are golden brown and lightly caramelized. About 8 minutes

3

While the zucchini are cooking, prep the tomatoes: cut out the cores round the stem end then halve the tomatoes. Squeeze out the seeds over a bowl. Discard. Roughly dice the flesh. Set aside until the zucchini are ready.

4

When the zucchini are browned, add the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt. Cook stirring over a medium-high flame until the tomatoes start to break down. If the veggies look dry add 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Continue to cook down until the tomatoes look pulpy, about 8 minutes, add water to the sauce as needed, 1/4 cup at a time.

5

Add the frozen peas. Stir to mix. Cook 1 minute. Add a little more of the pasta water if it looks dry. Add the torn basil, stir to mix. Immediately add the cooked pasta to the pan. Toss with the sauce. Cook 1 minute or until the pasta is just 'al dente'. Divide out into 4 bowls. Eat sprinkled with pecorino cheese.

Ann's Tips
6

In my experience, the water comes to a boil in about 20 minutes. By that time the sauce will be nearly finished - you'll probably be on step 4 by then. If that's the case, just pull the pasta water straight from the pot to moisten the sauce as needed, reserving only 1/2 cup when you drain the pasta. The pasta water has a lot of flavor and will add to the yumminess of your sauce as it cooks down.
FYI I sometimes add a tablespoon of grated pecorino the sauce along with the peas to make it a little creamy.