Cooking with someone else offers a fascinating window into their brain! The other night Dad and I sat down to make chicken piccata and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the variation in how we approach dinner preparation.

Prior to cooking, Dad sensibly read through the entire recipe, pre-chopped all of the vegetables and organized each ingredient neatly into bowls. He was prepared to pour and stir each at new step, making for a pleasant and prompt dish preparation. His final result reflects the original recipe to a T.

On the contrary, I tend to cook as I go – grabbing and grasping for ingredients and re-reading the recipe throughout the frantic process. Sometimes turning the heat to low while I chop an unexpectedly difficult veggie. This, however, means I often improvise and experiment along the way turning the recipe into my own creation! Maybe this says something about how we operate outside of the kitchen as well? Food for thought!

These veggies were so simple and quite tasty! The onions simmer in a pan and then the zucchini, garlic, and tomatoes are added for only about 4 minutes. Then fresh basil and is stirred in for a beautiful and fresh fall side dish. We paired it with the chicken piccata and the simple fresh flavors of these veggies stood out on the plate. It is an excellent way to use the end of any garden basil you planted! Dad noted that in the future he might replace the red onion with shallots which could be an interesting variation.  Enjoy!

This recipe is happily brought to the fun over at Fiesta Friday.

Fall Vegetable Saute

• Servings: 3-4
• Time: 10 prep + 14 cook = 24 mins
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Zucchini and cherry tomatoes are quickly sauteed with red onion and finished with basil for a fresh fall veggie side dish perfect for quick weeknight dinners!

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1 medium red onion – diced
• 4 small zucchini – quartered
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes – halved
• 3 cloves of garlic – minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil

Steps & Notes

1. Prepare the veggies and spices and place into small bowls.
   • Note: I don’t always do this but for this recipe which goes quickly having the veggies pre-cut and handy is very helpful
2. In a large saute pan heat some olive oil then add the onion. Cook for 8 minutes or so until just soft but not brown.
3. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 more minute
4. Then add the zucchini, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Stir regularly
5. Turn off the heat and add the basil, mixing well.  Cover for 3-4 minutes.
6. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more fresh basil and adjust salt/pepper if you’d like.

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Recipe from The Pantry Portfolio @ http://www.pantryportfolio.com