When I think of summer vegetables, the first that come to mind are zucchini and bottleneck squash.  They make their way into my summer meal rotation at least once a week.  I love how each serves as a tremendous vehicle for flavor, while maintaining their own light sweetness.

In this recipe, I have paired the two versatile squash with grape tomatoes and tossed them with minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil, and roasted them. If you’d prefer not to turn your oven on in these hot summer months, these ingredients can be sautéed for a similar effect.  Before serving, I sprinkled the vegetable mixture with minced fresh basil for a fresh pop of flavor.  It is the perfect summer side dish.

1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/8-inch thin rounds

1 medium bottleneck squash, sliced into 1/8-inch thin rounds

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup loosely packed basil, minced

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place the zucchini, bottleneck squash, grape tomatoes, minced garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Tossed them to combine, then spread the mixture out on the baking sheet so that the squash and tomatoes do not touch.

3. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes burst and the squash begins to brown around the edges.

4. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the mixture with the minced basil, and serve immediately.

Serves 4

🍅 Sprinkling this side dish with freshly grated Parmesan in addition to the basil would be amazing!