This is about as simple as it gets. A cold tomato sauce over zoodles. Perfect for when you’ve been out all day, and are hoping to get dinner on the table in a half hour. The kind of thing you can toss together as the steak or chicken is cooking on the grill.

Lots of short cuts here! This is a side dish for two, but it could easily be doubled.

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini, spiralized
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TBS pesto (purchased from the deli case is fine)
pint of grape tomatoes, or 2 tomatoes on the vine from the market
splash of bottled Italian dressing (Ken’s)
olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, red pepper flakes
fresh basil

Method:

1. Spiralize the zucchini using the “spaghetti” blade. Trim to manageable lengths.
2. Cut the grape tomatoes in halves, or the large tomatoes in a medium dice. Put them in a bowl and toss with a splash of Italian dressing. If you have fresh basil, shred a few leaves and toss that in as well. Disclaimer here: I never use bottled dressing for salads, but as an occasional quick marinade, it’s good to have on hand. Set aside while you cook the zoodles.
3. Film frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the minced garlic. Cook for about a minute until fragrant. Add the zoodles to the pan. Season with a shake of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Toss the strands while they are cooking. Add about a tablespoon of pesto and continue to toss until the zoodles are cooked through, but still have a bite.
4. Put the zoodles in a bowl and pour the cold tomatoes over them. Garnish with fresh basil.

Once August has arrived, and the tomatoes are ripe and wonderful, a cold tomato salad that has marinated in good olive oil and fresh basil for a few hours is a perfect topping for hot pasta (or zoodles!) But this quick version is really good for a late afternoon in June.