Zucchini Sauce Pasta
From Half Baked Harvest
”This recipe was inspired by Meghan Markle. Yes, the same one who married Prince Harry. I don't really follow the British royal family, but I once stumbled across an article that mentioned Meghan loves cooking. The article said she loves to make zucchini pasta - it didn't include a recipe, but it did note she doesn't use any cream, just the vegetable. That sounded pretty interesting, so I took that little bit of info and did up my own version. When zucchini is cooked down, it becomes buttery. And it naturally releases a lot of liquid, so it sort of automatically creates its own sauce. Add a little butter and Parmesan, and it's totally silky and perfect for tossing pasta in - and you'd get a similar effect using ghee or vegan butter and nutritional yeast, respectively. You can use any cut of pasta, but I love using something short with ridges to really help the sauce cling to the noodles. Since the dish is so simple, plenty of basil and fresh lemon juice add that extra hit of flavor at the end."
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 medium zucchini and/or yellow summer squash (about 1 pound), sliced
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
- Fresh lemon juice for serving
Method
- Bring large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and add it back to the hot pot.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the zucchini and season with the salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the zucchini is soft and lightly golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the butter, garlic, oregano, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook until the butter is melted and the herbs are fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and dump the zucchini into the pot full of pasta
- Add the basil pesto and Parmesan, and toss to melt the cheese, about 2 minutes. Add pasta cooking water, 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to thin the sauce.
- Stir in the basil to wilt. Serve immediately, topped with lemon juice, if desired, and more basil.
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