zucchini and arugula pesto pasta with lemon and basil

am i gazing at the photos of this pasta on my laptop screen with such intensity that i might recreate that scene in harry potter when harry falls inside the pages of tom riddle’s diary? did i hold a moment of silence to thank the heavens, skies, whomever after my first bite? did i proceed to have it for lunch, dinner, second breakfast, and then lunch again, respectively? will i inhale this at top speed when i make it again tomorrow night because my very cute boyfriend is coming to town?

yes, yes, yes, yes, and for good measure… yes.

this is what my delicious pasta-y dreams are made of, and if i were a true summer person, what i’d want to eat with a prosciutto melon appetizer and chilled glass of white situation every day. i am not a summer person and i live in minnesota and i kind of stopped eating meat so this scenario isn't exactly possible, but there are no rules in dreams.

zucchini and arugula pesto pasta with lemon and basil
makes 4 servings
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes

for the pesto:
2c arugula
1c peas - frozen + thawed works
1c fresh basil leaves
1/2c grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
juice of 1 lemon
1/2c olive oil
1tsp salt
1tsp black pepper

for the pasta:
1lb pasta shells (I like banza)
2 zucchini squash, sliced.- yellow or green zucchini is fine here!
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice from 1/2 a lemon (save the other half to squeeze on some greens or into tea later)
1tbsp olive oil
big pinche of salt

cook the pasta per instructions until al dente.

meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. add the shallot and garlic, and cook for a minute or so until you can smell the garlic and the shallot starts to become translucent. add the zucchini and salt, and saute for another 10 minutes until the zucchini starts to get golden brown.

while the zucchini is sizzling away doing it’s thing, pulse the ingredients for the pesto a food processor until combined. i like to have the pesto a little looser for this recipe, so add more oil as needed.

add the pasta and pest to the zucchini, and stir so that everything gets coated with the pesto. top with the lemon juice, more cheese (obviously) and more basil (a fancy touch!)