Inspiration: I have a few vegetable side dish recipes that I always seem to come back to. Mashed cauliflower is a new favorite, and I love these sauteed brussels sprouts. But my favorite vegetable side dish, by far, is this zucchini saute with almonds and Parmesan. I could eat it everyday, and it’s one of the few recipes that I make again and again. I thought that the basic idea of the recipe would lend itself to a lot of variations, and this variation seemed like a great compliment to the salmon with pesto sauce that I was serving for supper.

What we Loved: While I still stand by the zucchini saute with almonds and Parmesan as my favorite, this recipe was pretty great, too. You can add goat cheese to anything and I’ll love it, so the goat cheese was of course my favorite part of the dish. I just love the creaminess and how it compliments the crispness of the zucchini so well. I also adored the buttery, toasted taste of the pinenuts with the rest of the flavors. I love how simple this side dish is to prepare, and it would go well with so many main courses.

Helpful Hints: This is such a simple recipe that my only advice is to try the almond and Parmesan combination, too!

Zucchini Saute with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts
Source: Inspired from Zucchini Saute with Almonds and Parmesan, originally from Kitchenography

1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into thin strips (approximately 10-12) and then cut horizontally into matchsticks
1/8 cup pine nuts
1-2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

1. In a small sauce pan, add the pine nuts and turn the heat to medium low. Toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring the pinenuts often to make sure that they aren’t burning. Remove the pine nuts from the heat when they are golden brown.

2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pan. Add the zucchini to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until the zucchini starts to soften, only a few minutes.

3. Mix the pine nuts into the zucchini, and then plate the zucchini and pine nuts topped with the goat cheese crumbles.