Farfalle with Zucchini and Sun Gold Tomato Sauce

Late April into early May 2020. The pandemic stretches on and I am finding my rhythm within it, which is what you do. You find the rhythm. The daycare has given a preliminary reopening date of mid-May with protocols. I am relieved about the work and about the children. I have been worrying about Lily and the other toddlers in the room and what six weeks of disrupted routine has done to them. Children are resilient but they need consistency and I have not been a consistent presence for six weeks.

I have been calling Gloria every day as promised. We talk for thirty to forty minutes each time. James is doing well. She is well. The garden is beginning and she has been doing small things in it from the back porch with James watching through the window when he is not watching golf. She told me about the tomatoes coming in and the beans she planted and I listened to every detail because the details are everything.

Made focaccia this week, a proper one: high-hydration dough, dimpled with fingers, olive oil pooled in the dimples, flaky sea salt and rosemary from the windowsill. Baked at high heat until golden and crispy on the bottom and pillowy on top. It is one of the best breads I have made. The dimples hold pools of olive oil that crisp at the edges. Priya said: this is restaurant bread. I said: it is my bread. She said: yes. That is what I mean.

The focaccia was already pulling out of the oven when I started this pasta — golden-bottomed, olive-oil-pooled, sea-salted — and I needed something on the table that could hold its own next to bread that good without competing with it. Farfalle with zucchini and Sun Gold tomatoes was the answer: bright, quick, sweet from the tomatoes in a way that kept making me think of Gloria’s garden and the beans she’d just put in the ground. It’s the kind of pasta that asks almost nothing of you and gives back more than it should, which is exactly what that week needed.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

12 oz farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch half-moons
2 cups Sun Gold or other small yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more to finish
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Salt the water. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the farfalle according to package directions until just al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta cooking water before draining.
Sear the zucchini. While pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini in a single layer (work in batches if needed) and cook undisturbed for 2–3 minutes until golden on one side. Flip and cook 1–2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate.
Build the tomato sauce. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the same skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until fragrant and just beginning to turn golden. Add the Sun Gold tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until the tomatoes begin to burst and release their juices.
Deglaze and reduce. Pour in the white wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, for 2–3 minutes until the wine is mostly absorbed and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Bring it together. Return the zucchini to the skillet. Add the drained farfalle and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, adding more pasta water a splash at a time if needed, until the sauce coats the pasta and everything is glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan until melted and creamy.
Finish and serve. Fold in the torn basil. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Divide among bowls and top with additional Parmesan and fresh basil. Serve immediately alongside crusty bread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Farfalle with Zucchini and Sun Gold Tomato Sauce — The Week I Made Restaurant Bread in My Own Kitchen