Fettuccine with Calamari and Summer Squash

Recipe: Fettuccine with Calamari and Summer Squash
Page: 135
Date Cooked: August 6, 2011

I came off of a high with the last seafood pasta dish and figured I would just keep going. Furthermore, I fell in love with my pasta maker and decided that instead of using dried fettuccine (like the recipe calls for) I would just go ahead and make it on my own. This pasta dish promises the taste of summer with summer squash and sweet onions - so I was excited to give it a shot.

Ingredients: Sweet onions, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, squid, olive oil, rice wine vinegar, thyme leaves, salt, pepper, spinach fettuccine, and red pepper fettuccine

The first step was to get everything in its place. I thinly sliced the onions, took the kernels off the corn, julienned the zucchini and squash, and cut the squid into rings.

Left: Corn kernels, sliced onions, and julienned squash and zucchini
Right: Squid rings

I heated some oil in a large skillet and sauteed the onions for a few minutes. Later, I added the zucchini, squash, and corn and sauteed all of it together. Finally, I added the vinegar and thyme and stirred it all together.

Sauteed onions, zucchini, squash, and corn

I then removed the vegetable mixture from the skillet, wiped it out, and sauteed the squid just for a few seconds. Once the squid had cooked, I added the squash mixture back to the skillet. The entire mixture was stirred well and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Squid and vegetable mixture

In the meantime I cooked both the spinach and roasted red pepper fettuccine and tossed it into the squid-vegetable mixture. Then it was time to plate...

Fettuccine with Calamari and Summer Squash

The one thing about this dish was that it was visually stimulating. The colors were absolutely beautiful. Heck I would even say my picture rivals the one in JW's book. And...it tasted just as good as it looked. I'm going to have to give some credit to the amazing produce I bought at the farmers market the day before. I honestly think that was the reason why the dish actually tasted like summer. Nonetheless, it was amazing how the ingredients went together so well. The crunch of the zucchini and squash, the sweetness of the onions and corn, and finally the pasta - yummy! My own critique would be that the recipe definitely made more than "4 main-course servings." But I just ended up with some leftovers and I wasn't complaining. Overall, it was an incredibly good dish and I would definitely make it again!

Enjoy!

I would like to thank Jill Harvey with all the help julienning that squash and zucchini!