Peppery Zucchini Pasta

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 pepperoncini peppers, minced (from a jar)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 8 ounces whole wheat penne
• 1 large zucchini, shredded
• 2 ounces reduced-fat goat cheese, crumbled (1/3 cup)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or grape tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Recipe

• 1 in a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium-high heat. add onion and garlic, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• 2 add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, pepperoncini, salt, and pepper. reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes to flavor the oil. remove from the heat and keep warm.
• 3 bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. reserving 2 tablespoons of pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta.
• 4 add pasta, reserved pasta cooking liquid, zucchini, cheese, tomatoes, and basil to skillet; toss to combine. cook over medium heat until pasta is just heated through and cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. season with additional pepper to taste and serve warm.