Summer Vegetable Spaghetti

When the garden is overflowing with zucchini and yellow squash, this is the spaghetti to make. It’s a light, low-fat pasta that skips the oil entirely. The onions, squash, zucchini and green beans simmer in nothing but a little water until tender, then tomato paste stirs in to pull everything into a glossy, concentrated sauce.

A half teaspoon of chili powder is the sleeper ingredient here, lending a faint, smoky warmth that keeps a plain vegetable sauce from tasting flat. Fresh parsley and garlic round it out.

The best part is its range. Spooned over hot spaghetti with a shower of Parmesan, it’s a quick weeknight dinner. Chilled, it turns into a tomato-flecked pasta salad, ideal for packing to a picnic or stashing in the fridge for lunches.

Because there’s no heavy sauce weighing it down, the vegetables stay bright and distinct instead of melting into mush.

Kitchen Tips

• Cut the green beans and squash to similar sizes so everything finishes cooking at the same time.
• Stir the tomato paste in toward the end and let it cook a few minutes. That cooks off its raw, tinny edge and deepens the flavor.
• If you’re serving it cold, toss the drained pasta with a little sauce right away so it doesn’t clump as it chills.

Variations

• Add a drizzle of olive oil at the table for richness if you aren’t keeping it strictly low-fat.
• Toss in cherry tomatoes, bell pepper or fresh basil for more summer color.
• Use whole wheat or chickpea spaghetti to bump up the fiber and protein.