There was a week in midsummer when the garden box at the market looked like it was trying too hard. Corn piled next to zucchini next to bundles of basil so fresh the leaves were still a little wet. I bought all three, told myself I was being practical, and ended up at the counter with a recipe problem: what do you do with that much green, all at once, on a Tuesday?
The answer turned out to be this. Corn and zucchini cooked down until they give up a little of their water, then folded into a basil pesto and a cream that isn’t cream. It is the kind of pasta that tastes like summer is still in season, even when it isn’t. Real time: 25 minutes. Hands-on: 10.
The whole trick is the sauce. I used to reach for heavy cream and never think about it. This version swaps in pureed cottage cheese instead, and it keeps the sauce lighter while adding a bit of protein. If cottage cheese sounds strange in a pasta sauce, trust the blender — once it’s pureed, you can’t tell the difference, and the finish is still completely silky. If you’re not a fan, plain yogurt or sour cream work the same way.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta (gluten-free works fine)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 cups corn, cut from the cob
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup cottage cheese, pureed until smooth
- 1/4 cup parmesan (parmigiano reggiano), grated
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
Method
- Start the pasta in a big pot of salted water, as the package says.
- While it cooks, heat the oil and melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium. Add the onion, zucchini, and corn and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, stir, and cook until it smells fragrant, then turn off the heat.
- Blend the cottage cheese until completely smooth. Stir it into the vegetables with the parmesan and the pesto.
- When the pasta is done, drain it, but save 1–2 cups of the cooking water.
- Stir the pasta into the sauce, adding a little of that reserved water until the sauce loosens to how you like it. That starchy water is what makes it glossy.
Notes from the counter
The vegetables take about 10 minutes to soften, which lines up exactly with the pasta, so there’s no standing around. Keep a splash of pasta water on hand — it’s the difference between a sauce that sits in the bowl and one that clings to every strand.
Make it yours
Swap the cottage cheese for heavy cream if you want the old-fashioned richness. A handful of sun-dried tomatoes, sliced thin, adds a salty punch that plays well with the basil. And if you have leftover pesto in the fridge, this is the fastest way to use it up before it goes dark.
Per serving: 418 calories, 23g fat, 68g carbs, 5g fiber, 22g protein.
Happy cooking,
Maya