Braised Zucchini Pasta
A gloriously easy recipe which turns an abundance of zucchini into a silky and garlicky sauce for pasta in less than 30 minutes.
Servings: 4
Calories: 767kcal
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb zucchini approx 3 medium zucchini; I use green but yellow ones will work just as well
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1.5 tsp flaky salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb dried pasta see notes
- 3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese plus extra for serving
- 3 sprigs fresh basil for serving
Instructions
Make the sauce
- Preheat your oven to Combi Steam, 350°F/180°C, 70% (high) humidity. Have a large oven-safe skillet or baking dish ready to make the pasta sauce.
- Quarter each zucchini lengthwise, then slice into roughly 3/4 inch (2cm) chunks. Squash the garlic cloves to bruise, and peel off the skin (no need to chop them). Put the zucchini and garlic into your baking dish.1.5 lb zucchini, 3 cloves garlic
- Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the vegetables in the dish, then drizzle with the olive oil. Add half a cup of water to the pan, and put it into the oven. Cook until the zucchini is browning on top and soft enough to easily squash with a fork, about 25 minutes.1.5 tsp flaky salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- While the zucchini is cooking, heat a large pot of water, salt well when it comes to the boil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, saving about a cup of the starchy pasta water, then cover and set aside if it's ready before the sauce is finished.1 lb dried pasta
- When the zucchini is done, remove it from the oven and use the back of a fork or a potato masher (much quicker and easier than a fork!) to break it up and make a chunky sauce. Make sure you mash the garlic cloves well so there aren't big pieces of garlic through the sauce. Give it a good stir to bring together the vegetables and any liquid or olive oil that haven't been incorporated.
- Add the zucchini to the hot cooked pasta, with most of the parmesan cheese and about half of the pasta cooking water. I like to hold a little cheese back just to make sure my seasoning is right. Toss the pasta and sauce together to combine well, and check seasoning and viscosity of the sauce. If needed, add the remaining cheese or some additional pasta water to loosen things up. When you're happy with it, serve immediately with extra cheese and torn basil leaves.3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, 3 sprigs fresh basil
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes 4-6 serves (in our house it serves 2 adults and 3 kids, with one decent leftovers serve for an adult lunch the next day). It can easily be done in a half quantity (I use two smaller garlic cloves for a half batch, to save any mucking around with halved bits of garlic!).
- The ingredient quantities are very flexible in this dish. If you have a little less, or a little more zucchini, throw it in. Love garlic? Add more. Same goes for parmesan. And you can season with more or less salt and pepper too. As far as the herbs go, you can add a mountain of chopped basil or parsley when stirring the pasta through at the end, for a more herbaceous sauce.
- Pasta shapes: for the photographed dish, I used a flat, ruffle-edged shape called biricci, which I bought at my local Italian grocery store. Any larger short pasta varieties work well, as does spaghetti and fettucine. I would stay away from tiny short pasta varieties and angel hair pasta, as they can get a bit lost under the thick zucchini sauce.
- Leftovers of this dish can be refrigerated for up to 2-3 days, and gently reheated in a microwave or using your steam oven's reheat settings. You might need some additional water to loosen if you're reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 767kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 1194mg | Potassium: 735mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 569IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 283mg | Iron: 3mg
