Pasta with Zucchini, Italian Sausage & Fresh Mozzarella

A quick and simple pasta dish that celebrates the late summer harvest with fresh zucchini, cherry tomatoes, Italian sausage and fresh mozzarella.

It's a late summer's evening and the girls are playing and watching Disney's Luca for the 12th time. Dinner needs to be quick and healthy. A box of spaghetti, a zucchini, handful of cherry tomatoes, and Italian sausage. Why not make these ingredients into a fresh and light pasta with zucchini dish. The cherry tomatoes with onions, garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil are the base of this sauce. Then toss in the zucchini and cooked Italian sausage and top with melting fresh mozzarella and it becomes the perfect meal on a warm summer evening all done in less than 30 minutes! Naturally, this dish became known as Pasta di Luca in our home.

Cozy Tips

• When picking zucchini at a farmer's market or store, make sure the zucchini is firm and not bruised.
• You can use fresh mozzarella or even just parmesan cheese in a pinch.
• Make sure to add a tablespoon of butter in the sauce to finish the dish, this will add a nice bit of richness.
• Sprinkling the dish with fresh basil adds a final touch of summer brightness.
• Serve in a bowl or plate with sparkling water and fruit for a fun summer dinner!
• For a bit of extra coziness, add some fresh flowers and twinkle lights or flameless candles to the table. An essential oil diffuser tops off the whole experience! Click here for a great diffuser and starter essential oil kit!

Ingredients For Pasta with Zucchini, Italian Sausage & Fresh Mozzarella

• Zucchini
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Italian Sausage (sweet or spicy)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Fresh Mozzarella
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Spaghetti
• Few Leaves of Fresh Basil
• Salt
• Pepper

The Cozy Details

Gather all of your ingredients: pasta, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Chop up the veggies into quarter pieces, dice up the onion and garlic. Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Boil water for pasta as you begin the sauce.

Next, Place the ground Italian sausage into the pan and brown until fully cooked. Remove the sausage and set aside on a plate or in a bowl. In the same large pan over medium heat toss in the diced onions and finely chopped garlic in the left over oil of the sausage, if need be add in a little bit of olive oil to coat the onions.

Once the onions are translucent and soft, add in the zucchini and tomatoes. As the zucchini softens and cooks and the tomatoes break down, sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. The juices of the tomatoes will create a sauce. Stir occasionally. This should take about 15 minutes.

As the sauce simmers, place your pasta into boiling water. You will want to cook the pasta according the instructions on the pasta box, usually 12-14 minutes for Al Dente.

After the zucchini has soften and the cherry tomatoes have burst and released their juices you will want to add a table spoon of butter. Stir in the butter gently as it melts. Toss in the Italian sausage pieces and drain the pasta.

Once the pasta is drained toss it into the sauce.

Chop up the fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. Sprinkle the fresh mozzarella and basil on to of the pasta.

Enjoy with a dash of parmesan cheese and you are set for a quick and simple late summer dish of pasta with zucchini, Italian sausage, cherry tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella!