Pasta with Courgettes

Nigella Says

This is one of my favourite Pastas, but I must stat with a warning: it isn’t as easy on the eye as on the palate; this is a dish made for pleasure not a photo-op. In order for the courgettes to acquire the sweet, braised flavour they imbue the pasta with here, they are cooked to a squashy khaki.

I feel somewhat self-conscious using the French word, courgettes, here but I would feel even more so were I to dub them (outside of Italy or North America) zucchini. Whatever they’re called, this is how I prepared them: before dicing them, I peel away strips of skin, which gives them a striped look. This habit is a maternal legacy that I don’t expect you to inherit too. So peel or don’t peel, wholly or in stripes, as you see fit.

I like casarecce pasta, which for all that it means “homemade”, is produced by most good pasta manufactures and indeed is so common that I find it at mu local supermarket. Casarecce are small, loosely rolled tubes with a  gap– where the roll doesn’t quite meet up along the side – which catches every bit of flavoursome sauce. The more colourfully named strozzapreti (“priest-stranglers”) work in much the same way. Please don’t be put off making this should either of these shapes elude you. My Italian friends blithely suggest, as an alternative, either penne or farfalle.

I Say

This pasta dish like the last I cooked was so quick to cook and it works so well and has a very fresh clean flavour which I feel is a nice break from heavy rich tomato sauces or creamy pasta sauces. My wife and I loved it and added a good side salad and garlic dough balls to accompany the dish.

I used Penne Pasta and since I didn’t have any garlic oil to hand I used some garlic and olive oil in the base of the pan to add the garlic flavour. I had also forgotten the spring onions so added a small cooking onion and it all worked well. Well it would since it is such a minor tweak

This is one I’d definitely do again.

Ingredients

200g Casarecce Pasta (Or whatever you have to hand)

Salt for pasta water to taste

2 x 15ml Tablespoons Garlic Oil

4 Spring Onions finely sliced

500g Courgettes finely diced

60ml Dry White wine or vermouth

Small bunch of parsley chopped

3 x 15ml Tablespoons grated parmesan plus (optional) more for sprinkling

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Method

1.       Put a pan of water on for the pasta, salting generously (or to taste) when it comes to the boil, then add the Casarecce cooking as per packet instructions, though tasting a couple of minutes before they’re meant to be ready and get on with the sauce

2.       Put the garlic oil and chopped spring onion sin a heavy-based pan (that comes with a lid) on a medium heat and cook, stirring for 1 minute

3.       Add the diced courgettes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every now and again

4.       Add the wine or vermouth, letting it bubble up, followed by 2 tablespoons of the chopped parsley, salt to taste, then lower the heat, cover with the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, by which time the courgettes should be gorgeously tender

5.       Before draining the pasta, remove a cupful of starchy cooking water.

6.       Tip the drained pasta back into the pan, add the braised courgettes, or add the pasta to the pan of courgettes, along with 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan and 4 tablespoons of pasta-cooking liquid. Combine thoroughly and taste to see if you wish to add more cheese or salt or pepper or, indeed cooking liquid, then stir in the butter and most of the remaining parsley and divided between 2 warmed bowls, sprinkling with the rest of the parsley, and more Parmesan if wished, on serving