Fresh Tarragon with Pasta

Summer Herbs

The leaves are turning color on the cherry trees across the street from my house and falling rapidly. It’s funny how the cherry trees are one of the first to bloom and stand out in the spring and now again in the fall they are vying for attention again ahead of the other trees. Dog and I walk under them daily and get an occasional decorative leaf or two falling on us while we walk. Soon there will be other trees and bushes joining the rush to fall season.

For now I’m still happily maintaining my garden and picking lots of tomatoes and hot peppers even though fall approaches. Most of my tomato plants are done for the year, but there are a couple of unknown heirlooms producing well. That’s the beauty of planting many types of tomatoes, you get to pick some throughout the season.

With this abundance of  great tasting tomatoes I’ve been coming up with new ways to eat them. I have them with breakfast some mornings, especially if I’m eating eggs, and I also slice them up just for a snack at all times of the day. I’ve made, and posted gazpacho soup, gobs of salsa for chips and dip, and canned a bunch of diced tomatoes.

I figure I have two or three more weeks of tomato harvesting before I have to count on the local farms for fresh tomatoes. My herbs however will produce into October and beyond. One year I had fresh herbs right through November! As a chef it’s awesome to have a great little herb garden out back. For most of my life I lived in cold climates and had to resort to grocery stores for almost all my fresh herb needs.

With my tarragon plant starting to look just a bit old I decided to start using more fresh tarragon. I made a fresh tarragon salad dressing this week and for today’s post decided to share with you a tarragon pasta dish that takes less than 20 minutes start to finish. If you don’t like tarragon just substitute fresh basil for this side dish and enjoy just the same.

Fresh Tarragon with Pasta

12 ounces pasta of your choice, I like fettucine for this dish

2 1/2 quarts of water

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons oil

8 ounces sliced white mushrooms

1 bell pepper diced, green, yellow, or red

1/2 yellow onion sliced

1 clove garlic minced

1 heaping tablespoon fresh tarragon minced

Start pasta water, and salt boiling on high heat to get a head start. Cook according to directions on package.

In a sauté pan on medium heat cook onions, peppers and garlic for three to five minutes stirring often.

Add sliced mushrooms and cook for another eight to ten minutes.

If pasta is done it is time to add  most of the tarragon to the mushroom mixture and cook for just one minute on medium heat stirring. Save a bit of tarragon for a garnish.

Arrange pasta on serving platter or bowl and top with mushroom mixture.

Sprinkle a bit of the leftover tarragon on top and garnish the sides with fresh tomato wedges.

Serves four as a side and two as a main dish.