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Plus, this dish is quick and easy to make.

Key Points

• Stanley Tucci’s zucchini pasta is a simple way to use up summer squash.
• Infusing olive oil with garlic and peperoncino adds heat and flavor.
• Swap zucchini with other summer squash for a similar dish.

Zucchini is wildly abundant during the summer season, so there’s a fair chance you have a pile that you’re looking to use up before it goes to waste. And what better way to transition into fall than by tossing them into a comforting pasta dish—especially one from Stanley Tucci.

The actor-turned-enthusiastic home cook (partly inspired by his role in the film Big Night) recently walked his Instagram followers through a foolproof pasta dish that he learned from a friend while in Rome, and it looks absolutely mouthwatering. Garlic, zucchini and peperoncino take plain spaghetti to the next level—and you’ll love that it comes together in just a few minutes, making it a go-to weeknight dinner.

Chatting to the camera and the cameraperson—Tucci’s wife Felicity Blunt—Tucci shares a brilliant way to build heat without overpowering the dish. He begins by simmering fresh garlic and a single peperoncino (a dried, red hot chili pepper in this case) in extra virgin olive oil over low heat, allowing it to infuse the oil for a few minutes. “If you want it spicier, you can put more peperoncino,” he says.

After removing the peperoncino from the pan, he adds halved and sliced zucchini and lets it cook down until slightly softened. Next, he uses tongs to add al dente spaghetti into the pan. Transferring the pasta over with tongs is a simple way to bring a small amount of the salted pasta cooking water into the pan, which helps create a creamy consistency. To finish the dish, Tucci mixes in a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and recommends topping each serving with fresh parsley.

While you probably wish you could pull up a seat and enjoy the rustic meal alongside the Tucci family, you may already have all of the ingredients on hand to make it yourself. If you don’t have any peperoncino, adding a small amount of crushed red pepper (the kind you put on pizza) to the oil will work just as well. And other summer squashes can be substituted for the zucchini—think yellow, pattypan and other varieties.

Tucci’s zucchini pasta is a satisfying meal, but if you’re feeling extra hungry or have guests stopping by, you can serve it as a main, starting with a simple green salad and finishing the meal with an Italian dessert—maybe even one that uses summer berries—plus a digestif to wash it all down.

Looking for more summer pasta dinner ideas? These are a great way to use up your summer produce, too: