Farmer's Market Pasta

Farmer’s Markets are my happy place. I dream of one day having my own farm with an abundance of produce that I get to share with other people. I live for fresh vegetables and herbs! Once you have food straight from a farm it is so hard to go back to a normal grocery store for produce again. I have been reading a bunch of Carolyn Roehm books lately and there was one recipe of hers where she wrote about the lusciousness of peaches picked straight from a tree at the perfect ripeness. It was really the best description I had ever read about how wonderful food is when it’s grown with love and consumed shortly after being harvested. Ahhh it’s the best!! 

This is truly why I love food so much. Food is such an art. I don’t care if it’s fresh veggies from a garden or a 10 hour masterpiece dessert, anything that showcases passion for the art of food has my heart. I have spent too much time appreciating the earth while I have been on my trip to Michigan but, ugh, I am so in love with creating recipes and appreciating food. 

While I am sharing this recipe, the whole point of this post is to encourage you to seek out farmer’s markets in your area and create a great pasta recipe based on what you find. 

Ingredients:

12-16 oz sausage (the one I used was about 13 oz) 

2 large summer squash 

1 bunch asparagus 

4 tablespoons olive oil 

1 pound spaghetti 

3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 cup reserved pasta water 

1/2-1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley 

1 lemon 

Salt and pepper to taste

How to make Farmer’s Market Pasta From Scratch

Cut the summer squash into large circles but cutting on an angle.

Cut the tough ends off of the asparagus.

Place the sausage, squash, and asparagus onto a platter and drizzle them with a couple tablespoons of the olive oil.

Sprinkle the squash and asparagus with a little salt. 

Heat up and oil the grill (or prepare according to your specific grill). 

Cook the sausage until it is nicely charred and cooked through. I like to leave it on the “cool” part of the grill while I cook up the veggies so that all the juices can settle. You can also remove the sausage from the grill, cover it with some foil and place it in a warm oven (about 200 degrees) while prepping everything else. 

Cook the veggies on the grill until they have nice grill marks and a good char. Careful not to overcook them or they will be too mushy.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. 

Drain the pasta and add the butter and parmesan. 

Chop up the vegetables and cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Add them into the pasta. 

Stir everything together and add some of the pasta water. I like to add enough cheese and pasta water, over a low heat, until it creates a sauce. 

Squeeze in the additional olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.