Make-Ahead Spaghetti With Arugula Jalapeño Pesto and Zucchini Recipe

[Photograph: Suzanne Lehrer]

Few culinary creations are more conducive to mix-and-match than pesto. Pick a leafy green you wouldn't mind eating raw—spinach, basil, kale, beet greens—and pick a hard cheese that you could eat, grated, by the mouthful—I'm partial to Parmesan, Pecorino, or Manchego. Throw them into a blender with a handful of toasted nuts, stream in some splurge-worthy olive oil, and you've just reinvented the pesto wheel.

Cold pesto pasta is one of my favorite summer meals. There are few sights more welcoming after a day in the sun than a tangle of cold noodles slicked with pesto, waiting to be eaten straight from the container. This take on pesto calls for arugula, Parmesan, walnuts, and, stick with me, jalapeño. Peppery lettuces meet spicy pepper in a match I will certainly repeat. To add some sweetness and crunch, I twirled the noodles with raw julienned slices of zucchini. Sweet summer squash needs no further preparation.

Notes: To add and maintain more heat, keep the seeds in the jalapeño. Make sure to drain the pesto well, otherwise you'll end up with some separated oil the next day. You can keep the oil in an airtight container and mix it into vinaigrettes for a subtle kick.

Swipe some of this pesto on shrimp, beef, chicken or tacos. It goes well with just about everything.