Skip to main content
Bon Appétit

Summer Squash Pasta With Just Enough Anchovies

4.8

(20)

sunny photo of pasta with brown tongs surrounded by glassware on a light blue linen surface
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Judy Kim

Compared with its compatriots (looking at you, tomatoes and stone fruit!), a bunch of squash at the bottom of the CSA box doesn’t elicit much celebration. But summer for me means finding new ways to cook with this underrated veggie. My favorite? This simple, silky sauce, made with zucchini, lots of shallots, and a tangle of anchovies. With all of the ingredients casually slung in a pot and cooked down until tender, the effort-to-reward ratio on this sauce is off the charts. Toasted buttered hazelnuts are the perfect punctuation, offering texture and nuttiness. Creamy without a drop of cream and packing nearly two pounds of zucchini (potassium! vitamin C!), this pasta is excellent alongside a few glasses of cold white wine. Seek out bright yellow zucchini such as Gold Bar for the sunniest color. —Shilpa Uskokovic

All products featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through the retail links below, we earn an affiliate commission.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4–6 servings

Ingredients

1½

lb. yellow summer squash (about 3 large), halved lengthwise, sliced

1

lb. shallots, sliced

6

garlic cloves, sliced

10

oil-packed anchovy fillets

⅓

cup extra-virgin olive oil

1

tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1

tsp. ground turmeric

Kosher salt

½

cup coarsely chopped blanched hazelnuts

2

Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1

lb. spaghetti, linguine, bucatini, or other long pasta

2

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Shaved Parmesan and basil leaves (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine squash, shallots, garlic, anchovies, oil, red pepper flakes, and turmeric in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot; toss to coat. Place pot over medium heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender but have not taken on much color, 20–25 minutes. Transfer to a blender; reserve pot. Blend squash mixture until smooth. Season squash purée with salt.

    Step 2

    Cook hazelnuts and butter in a small skillet over medium-low, stirring often, until nuts are just golden, 6–8 minutes (nuts will continue to cook off heat). Season with salt.

    Step 3

    Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute less than package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

    Step 4

    Transfer pasta to reserved pot; pour in squash purée and ½ cup pasta cooking liquid. Cook over medium-high heat, tossing often and adding more pasta cooking liquid a tablespoon or two at a time if needed, until sauce is thickened and coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

    Step 5

    Divide pasta among shallow bowls or mound on a platter. Top with Parmesan and basil. Spoon hazelnuts over.

Explore Bon AppétitDinnerMainEasyWeeknight MealsHealthyishPastaBucatiniPasta & NoodlesSpaghettiLinguineSummer SquashSquashVegetableAnchovyFishSeafoodSimmerSummer
Sign In or Subscribe
to leave a Rating or Review

How would you rate Summer Squash Pasta With Just Enough Anchovies?

Leave a Review

Reviews (20)

Back to Top

  • Quite nice. #1 suggestion is be conscious when adding the sauce to the noodles as the proportions are off - likely you'll have extra sauce (you can freeze!). I sliced my larger basil leaves in a chiffonade for more in each bite & left only the small leaves whole. Take or leave the hazelnuts (I think pine nuts would be lovely as someone else suggested!)

    • Kristin

    • NY

    • 7/10/2024

  • This is a truly delicious recipe for the beggining of summer. Fresh, local, summer squash really has more flavor than the watery winter stuff at the store and is the cheapest produce item at the farmer's market in much of America. Although it seems really simple, it is in fact incredibly flavorful, especially if you cook the sauce down for a while. Overall an excellent recipe that I have made three Junes in a row and intend on making a lot more this year.

    • Cedar beck

    • Washington DC

    • 6/12/2024

  • I echo Kaitlin from Chicago. Monotonous. Melted a bag of spinach into it, and definitely wanted more spice. I think, perhaps doing the. pound of pasta into the sauce and smaller batches might help some of the texture issues. It’s hard to judge the amount of sauce for the pound of pasta and prevent it from getting mushy.

    • A cook from Buffalo

    • Buffalo, NY

    • 3/21/2024

  • Easy to make. Followed the recipe exactly except for swapping cashews with the hazelnuts. The first few bites were good, but nothing to write home about. If there were no chili flakes the pasta would have been very boring. I wanted to like it more, unfortunately the leftovers did not really get eaten which is the nail in the coffin for me.

    • Kaitlin

    • Chicago

    • 9/1/2022

  • This is an incredible recipe. I didn't change a thing and I don't think I ever will, except using chickpea pasta. The anchovy is fantastic, the sautéed hazelnuts are a MUST. I plan on keeping yellow squash in my fridge at all times now so that this can be one of my go-to midweek after-work recipes.

    • eastmana

    • Nashville, TN

    • 8/8/2022

  • I made this last night after work. It was so simple yet so delicious. Next time I will replace anchovies for miso and finish it with chili crisp.

    • Alyson

    • Brooklyn, NY

    • 7/22/2022

  • This recipe is a keeper. I made it for my Mother and myself. I can't wait to share it with others. The leftovers are fantanstic. It also freezes well for future meals. The hazelnuts add a great flavor and crunch.

    • R Hill

    • Seattle, WA

    • 6/14/2022