Summer Vegetable Pasta
A bright Chef Aly Thermomix reinterpretation of Alice Waters-style summer vegetable pasta with zucchini, cherry tomatoes, basil and a light olive-oil sauce.
Alice Waters's cooking is a beautiful starting point for this Chef Aly Thermomix version of summer vegetable pasta. It keeps the spirit of the dish while making the method simple, metric and practical for TM6 and TM7 home cooks.
Ingredients
- 🧅1 onion, halved
- 🧄2 garlic cloves
- 🫒25 g olive oil
- 🍝300 g dried short pasta, such as fusilli or penne
- 🥒1 zucchini, cut into 2 cm pieces
- 🫑1 red capsicum, deseeded and cut into 2 cm pieces
- 🍅250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 💧80 g water
- 🍝1 tsp fine salt, plus extra for pasta water
- 🫑Black pepper, to taste
- 🍋20 g lemon juice
- 🧀30 g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 🌿1 small handful basil leaves, torn
Thermomix method
- Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until just al dente. Reserve 120 g pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- Place onion and garlic in the mixing bowl and chop 5 sec / speed 5. Scrape down.
- Add olive oil and cook 3 min / 120°C / speed 1 to soften the base.
- Add zucchini, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Cook 10 min / 100°C / Reverse / speed soft, with the measuring cup off and the simmering basket on the lid.
- Add lemon juice and 60 g reserved pasta water. Mix 10 sec / Reverse / speed 1.
- Toss the sauce through the warm pasta in a serving bowl with parmesan and basil. Add a splash more pasta water if needed, then serve with extra parmesan.
Aly's tips
- Keep the vegetables chunky and use Reverse so the sauce stays fresh and textured.
- The pasta is cooked separately because it gives better texture and keeps the Thermomix sauce bright rather than starchy.
- Use the best tomatoes you can find. This simple pasta depends on the vegetables.
Questions
Can I make Summer Vegetable Pasta in a Thermomix TM6 or TM7?
Yes. The sauce is written with exact Thermomix times, temperatures and speeds for both TM6 and TM7, while the pasta is cooked separately for better texture.
Can I use different summer vegetables?
Yes. Eggplant, asparagus, yellow squash or green beans can replace part of the zucchini or capsicum. Keep the total vegetable weight close to 500 g.
Want to cook this in minutes?
Every recipe here is made for the Thermomix. Get yours through me, or message me and I'll help you choose.